


Project Freezerburn

by Snipersphere900



Category: RWBY
Genre: Action, Chapter 27 is Explicit, Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Weiss is ashamed of her scar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-08 01:30:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 157,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19861315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snipersphere900/pseuds/Snipersphere900
Summary: When Weiss Schnee goes to Beacon Academy, she is cold and broken. Forced to hide her scar and her true self from her fellow students, it is her duty as a Schnee to make sure everyone believes she is perfect, even if it means she will have to sacrifice her dreams. Luckily, after a rough start, Yang Xiao Long is here to help Weiss change that...and maybe fall in love along the way."The scar on her face. Weiss hated it. That thin scar that ran over her left eye was the ultimate mark of her imperfection. Weiss knew she was not perfect, but she was raised to make sure others believed she was.""He demanded that she would keep her injury covered up at all times, and he forced her to stay in her room at the Schnee manor until it was safe to put glue over her wound."





	1. Welcome to Beacon

Weiss had an eventful first week at Beacon Academy. On the first day, she met a small, young girl named Ruby Rose who made a complete fool of herself by not looking where she was going. She fell right on top of the heiress' luggage, filled with dust and several other essentials, causing a large explosion right in front of the school thanks to some highly reactive fire dust.

The heiress thought nothing of the whole disaster, leaving the small redhead with a scolding, and promptly walked away. She predicted Ruby would either quit or be expelled before classes even started, so she figured she would save her breath for someone who _really_ rubbed her the wrong way.

She ended up seeing Ruby again, however, talking to a tall blonde girl about their encounter in the courtyard. Her father's words about educating the incompetent about the dangers and uses of Schnee Dust Company dust echoed in her mind, and she hesitated for a split second before giving the small girl yet another scolding.

Then, she got a good look at the blonde. She had lilac eyes and her hair was as golden as the sun itself; even brighter, perhaps. Weiss had to look away, however, because the headmaster chose that moment to begin his introductory speech for the new students that would be attending this year.

It was later that day, after the sun had set, when she crossed paths with Ruby yet again. The heiress had 'overheard' a conversation the younger girl was having in the shared room for all the new students while they waited for the next day to be assigned teams and dorm rooms. She was with the blonde girl from earlier and a familiar girl with black hair and amber eyes who was clearly _trying_ to read a book. She remembered the black-haired girl from when she first arrived at the school. She was the one who interfered with Ruby's first scolding of the day.

From the conversation that Weiss eavesdropped on, she learned that the names of the blonde and black-haired girls were Yang and Blake, respectively, and Ruby and Yang were sisters. Strange… they look absolutely nothing alike. Weiss had to admit that she was intrigued by these people, especially the blonde, but she refused to let their talking keep her from her sleep any longer. It was hard enough for the heiress to fall asleep without others talking throughout the night. She sped towards them, pretending she had not heard anything and began another scolding. That was the night where Weiss decided she did not like Yang.

On the outside, Yang Xiao Long was a person who would seem like a valuable asset to have on her team. The only issue was that she was loud, impulsive, and inappropriate _all_ the time; Weiss desperately did not want to be on a team with her. She shivered at the thought of struggling to keep her secrets from the incredibly pushy blonde due to her nosey and outgoing nature. She made extra sure that her scar was flawlessly hidden behind several layers of glue and makeup not much different from what one would find in a Halloween store.

The scar on her face. Weiss hated it.

That thin scar that ran over her left eye was the ultimate mark of her imperfection. Weiss knew she was not perfect, but she was raised to make sure others _believed_ she was. She got the scar during her entrance exam for Beacon, so the only people who knew about it were Headmaster Ozpin, her father, and herself. Not even her sister knew about it. She defeated the Geist Grimm in the end, but her father, Jacques Schnee, made it explicitly clear that she was _not_ to let anyone know that she defeated the creature as the cost of it landing a strike on her. He demanded that she would keep her injury covered up at all times, and he forced her to stay in her room at the Schnee manor until it was safe to put glue over her wound.

It was like being locked in a prison inside of another prison and her father was the warden of both. Servants like the man who had practically raised her, Klein Sieben, were not permitted anywhere near her door and her father would personally deliver food and water to her. He said she could ask him for whatever she wanted while she was stuck there, but she knew better. She spent her days honing her skills with her rapier along with singing and looking ahead to the material that would be taught to her next year at Beacon. But even with her father visiting her every day, she never felt more lonely in her life. Having him come to check on her healing scar and feed her every day made her feel more like his pet than his daughter. He would always leave in a hurry to get back to his work for the SDC, so she knew that he probably viewed as such.

Weiss hated her father and what he was doing with the company. It was once an honest and honorable business that was once run by an honest and honorable man: her grandfather, Nicolas Schnee. She wanted nothing more than to fix everything her father has done, but she can't do that until her father steps down, which won't happen any time soon. This was why she was training to become a huntress: she wanted to lead the company the same way her grandfather did. She wanted to do her own dirty work.

Which lead her to the next morning at Beacon. She needed to find a team.

The headmaster literally ejected Weiss and the other students into the Emerald Forest where they would be forced to work together to complete their first assignment against the creatures of Grimm. He said the first person she made eye contact with after landing was going to be her teammate for the rest of her time at Beacon. Immediately, Weiss thought of Pyrrha Nikos, champion of several tournaments in Mistral. A team consisting of the strongest girl in class _and_ the smartest girl in class was all but guaranteed to dominate the other teams.

She heard quick footsteps getting closer from behind and turned around to see Ruby Rose slide to a halt after sprinting in her direction. Weiss sighed internally. She looked the red girl straight in the eye and started to walk the other way, but turned around _again_ when she saw a wimpy guy stuck in a tree. At that point, she had to choose the better of two bad situations and proceeded to drag Ruby away by her red cloak. She still had a chance to have Pyrrha on her team after all.

By the end of the day, Weiss had been put on a team with Ruby, Blake, and Yang. Of _course_ she had to be put on a team with the _one_ person she _really_ did not want to be on a team with. To make matters worse, Ruby of all people was selected to be the team leader.

Weiss was furious at first. She spent the entire next day acting cold and hostile towards her team leader. She told Ruby she was not fit to be a leader and that Ozpin had made a mistake. But then she had a chat with Professor Port about it. He told her that he has trusted the headmaster for a lifetime and that she should trust him too. He helped her begin to understand Ruby. That night, she made peace with the fact she was not the leader and even told Ruby she would be the best teammate ever.

* * *

It was a bright Sunday morning in team RWBY's dorm room. The light danced across the carpeted floor as it bled through the shades that were drawn over the window.

Weiss Schnee was already out of bed and in the bathroom starting her lengthy, tedious morning routine. The rest of her team still lied in their makeshift bunk beds and were all perfectly fine with sleeping through half the day. Thankfully, this meant Weiss could start her routine later in the day than usual and steal some more precious sleep.

Weiss put a lot of effort into keeping her secret. Just by observing her team for less than a week, she made the perfect morning schedule that worked around her teammates' morning routines. She knew she took two hours and thirty minutes on average to get ready. She simply got out of bed two hours and thirty minutes before Blake usually woke up so she could have her makeup on before anyone was awake.

Weiss looked in the mirror and frowned. That hideous scar always mocked her in the morning.

She picked up her toothbrush, thoroughly brushed her teeth—she would not stand for rancid morning breath—and hopped in the shower. A long, relaxing shower was an absolute _must_ for Weiss; she did not mind waking up a little earlier if it meant she could have her shower.

Unfortunately, she could not stay there forever. She was on a very tight schedule after all.

She turned off the water and patted herself dry with a towel before wrapping her pristine, white hair in it. She needed to put her makeup on with nothing but a towel around her hair because it was a real pain to get the glue she used for her scar out of her clothes if she got some on them by accident.

She delicately applied the glue to her face with a small brush, careful to avoid her eyelashes, until the skin looked flat and not like something had parted her skin. Satisfied with her work, she capped the thumb-sized glue container and stowed it in a small case.

She took the opportunity to get dressed while the glue dried.

It was usually now when Weiss would start softly singing to herself to help pass the time. They were always somber tunes these days: before, she would throw in the occasional light and cheerful song.

The minor key echoed lightly through the dimly lit room as Weiss put together the finishing touches of her makeup and pinned her now slightly damp hair up in a side tail. She looked at the time on her scroll and saw that she was slightly behind schedule.

"Drat," she whispered to herself, "Blake is _definitely_ awake by now."

Sure enough, when Weiss emerged from the bathroom, Blake was sitting on her bed. Her amber eyes left the book she had in her hand and met Weiss' icy blue ones, "Good morning, Weiss," she hummed and walked past her into the bathroom.

"Good morning..." said Weiss as she moved to sit on her own bed.

_How could I be so careless?_ _What if Blake had to go to the bathroom or something? If I'm just doing makeup and I didn't let her in, she would know something is up, and if I did let her in, she would obviously see my scar._

Weiss' mind raced through all of the worst-case scenarios she could think of. She was so entangled in her thoughts that she did not notice Ruby stirring in the bed above her.

Ruby's mob of messy, red-tipped hair came into view from above without warning, making Weiss jump, "Good morning, Weiss!"

As if on cue, the bathroom door opened, revealing Blake Belladonna, ready to start the day.

"It's been twenty minutes already?" Weiss asked herself aloud as Ruby sped into the now open bathroom.

"Actually it's been about twenty-five minutes. I had a particularly tough knot in my hair this morning that needed a little more attention," Blake told her icy teammate.

Weiss ignored her teammate and, once again, lost herself in her thoughts.

Blake was more interested in what the heiress had just said than she let on. She wondered why Weiss knew exactly how long she took in the bathroom. She decided she would find out sooner or later: she did not want to provoke the irritable girl by asking her about it outright.

Instead, Blake settled on asking her a simple question: she knew they would be stuck with each other for the next four years, so it would not hurt to know a little bit about the heiress. "So, Weiss, how did you sleep?"

Weiss pulled out her scroll and answered without looking at her, "Just fine, thank you."

"That's good..." replied Blake. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the small dorm room, but Blake did not want to make it any more awkward by saying anything else, so she simply sat down on her bed and started reading.

A few minutes passed and the bathroom door flung open again. This time, Ruby stepped out, "Rise and shine, team RWBY!" she cheered. Neither Weiss nor Blake moved. Ruby was not pleased with the lack of enthusiasm. She looked up at her sister's bed, "Yang, wake up! You've got to start getting ready now if we're going to catch JNPR at breakfast! You always take so _long!"_ Ruby complained.

Weiss sighed at the irony of what Ruby said and cringed at the sound of Yang's pouting, "Just go without me Rubes, let me sleep."

"Yang, you're the one who always says _'breakfast is the most important meal of the day.'_ Are you telling me that a hardy breakfast is not important anymore?" Ruby smirked.

Yang smiled at Ruby from her bed above her, "Very sneaky Sis… Very sneaky."

Ruby smiled at her sister as she jumped down from her bed. Yang walked behind Ruby towards the bathroom only to turn around and grab her little sister from behind in a massive bear hug; lifting her off the ground while tickling her.

Ruby could hardly control her giggling as Yang attacked her armpits with her fingers, "Yang! Stop it!" another fit of laughter, "You're gonna make me pee!"

Yang loosened her grip on Ruby only for the red girl to turn on her and attack her super-sensitive area right under her left rib with her own fingers, "Woah woah, Sis!" Yang immediately backed off still giddy from their tickle fight, "You win... I'll get ready now," said Yang, out of breath as she walked, backward, into the bathroom.

Weiss stood up, "You both are _so_ immature," said the heiress, walking to her desk.

Ruby, still catching her breath, ignored her, "So, what do you guys wanna do for the next half hour?" There was no answer. "Ugh, I'm just going to go across the hall to JNPR's dorm," the red girl pouted.

Now Weiss and Blake were the room's only occupants. Neither of them said a word while Weiss got to work on an assignment that was not due for another three weeks. The thing she liked most about Blake was that she knew when it was better to stop talking, unlike her other two teammates.

In the potent silence, she was very productive and had not realized how quickly thirty minutes had passed. This fact was made known to her when she heard the bathroom door swing open and a loud groan escape her not-so-favorite blonde.

"Why do you guys always use up all the hot water?" Yang whined, "I just want a nice hot shower to start the day," she turned toward Weiss, "I know it's always you specifically, _Ice Queen."_

"If you want hot water, consider waking up at an appropriate time," Weiss countered.

Yang gave the heiress a dirty look, cueing Blake to intervene before this situation escalated, "Good morning, Yang," she began, "Ready to get some breakfast?"

The brawler perked up at the thought of food, "Oh yeah, we've gotta be quick! I would kill for a breakfast burrito right now, and they always run out of them by eleven."

Weiss rolled her eyes and started to follow Yang out the door and down the hall.

"Guys?" Blake called from the entrance of their dorm room, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Yang patted herself down and pulled out her scroll, "No, I've got my scroll right here, Blake," she shouted far too loudly from down the hall, causing Weiss to flinch and shoot her a look.

Blake folded her arms and let out an amused sigh, "I was talking about our _leader._ You know, your sister, Ruby Rose?" she knocked on JNPR's door.

Weiss scoffed and shook her head while the brawler pulled at her orange scarf, "Oh…" was the blonde's only response.

The door to JNPR's dorm swung open and Jaune Arc, their team leader, poked his head out, "Hey Blake, is Yang done yet?" Blake only nodded and beckoned them to follow, "Guys, Yang's done, let's go," Jaune called to the room's occupants.

Ruby was the first one out with a whine, "Finally! I'm _so_ hungry!"

"Sorry, Rubes," said Yang as her sister caught up to her, "You know how long it takes to do my hair."

"Maybe it wouldn't take so long if you were quick about it!" Ruby fumed.

Yang smirked at the red girl, "You can't rush perfection, Little Sis."

Weiss, who had been listening to the sisters' conversation, could beg to differ.

* * *

The two teams walked to the dining hall together. After Weiss got her coffee, she decided it was time to leave. She had only walked with them to humor Ruby. She told her that she would be a good teammate after all. The heiress simply waited until everyone had seated and slipped out of the dining hall, coffee in hand. It's not that she disliked her fellow students—except for Yang. She just preferred to be alone.

She leisurely strolled outside and into the academic building where all of the classrooms and, more importantly, the library was. She carried on through the building, her clacking heels now much louder in the vacant halls, until she reached her destination. She loved the Beacon library because it was almost always empty. The need for its aging books was decreasing more and more now that anyone could learn about anything with the use of a scroll.

Weiss claimed the seat that she had grown accustomed to in the back and pulled out her scroll. She scrolled through the small device until she located her camera and inspected her face with it.

 _No peeling yet..._

She relaxed. The heiress _knew_ there would be no peeling. She had mastered the act of applying the glue to her face. She still checked her appearance throughout the day anyway because of the paranoia that she somehow made an error while applying the glue.

Weiss continued to look at herself until a pop-up on her scroll stopped her from seeing her face. The pop-up told her that her father was calling.

She let out a heavy sigh and answered the call, "Hello, Father," she said with false delight.

" _Hello, Weiss. How was your first week at Beacon?"_

Despite her father's words, he did not seem the least bit intrigued by Weiss' first week.

"It was busy, but I've had a wonderful experience so far. I feel my team is a well equipped and competent one," she lied through her teeth.

" _Right,"_ replied Jaques, _"But has anyone discovered your… condition?"_

"No, Father. I have taken several calculated strides to conceal it," Weiss' false demeanor did not falter.

" _Excellent, I will call later in the week to check up on you again,"_ his careless tone angered Weiss, but she did not dare let it show through her voice.

"Of course, Father."

" _When you feel that Beacon does not suit your needs, simply let me know and you can come home to attend Atlas Academy,"_ he ended the call as soon as the last word left his lips.

Weiss let the venom seep from her speech, "I assure you, I will not,"

Weiss felt like she wanted to throw up. Every conversation with her father left her feeling nothing but more ire towards him. She used to try to remember the days when she was younger, when she did not know her father only married her mother for the company, to cool off. But now? Those memories carried nothing but grief with them.

She decided she needed some fresh air and stood up from her seat to leave the library. She walked through the halls again and, this time, encountered students walking about. The beaming sun shined through some clouds from directly above as Weiss stepped out of the building, and a glance at her scroll confirmed her suspicion.

It was nearly noon. Most of the students had finished breakfast by now, so Weiss needed to get to the park that was on campus to walk in solitude.

She hastened toward the large courtyard that housed the CCT, eager to reach somewhere secluded. When she reached the looming tower, she immediately began to grit her teeth at the sight of Team CRDL on the front steps that lead to the entrance of the CCT.

She altered her course, hoping to avoid confrontation with the team of bullies. The last thing she wanted at the moment was for Cardin, the team leader of CRDL, to talk to her.

Weiss thought they might have seen her, however, and was not surprised when Cardin spoke, "Hey, Snow Angel. Where are _you_ heading off to?"

The heiress knew they would just follow her if she ignored them, so she figured interaction was inevitable, "What do you want, Cardin?" she sighed and turned.

"I just wanted to talk, Snow Ang–"

"Don't call me that," interrupted Weiss.

Cardin's expression hardened, "Fine, _Ice Queen_ ," he continued, "Anyway, I was thinking—"

"I was unaware that a brute, such as yourself, was even capable of thought. I suppose you learn something new every day," she interrupted again as she inspected her fingernails.

Cardin was getting angry, "Listen, Weiss. You are an heiress," he pointed both hands at Weiss, "I'm an heir," now he pointed both his thumbs to himself. Cardin was, in fact, an heir to his own father's company. The Winchesters were an asset to the SDC, but Weiss personally hated them. Like the boy in front of her, the Winchesters were a bunch of bullies.

Weiss thought over what he said and dared to ask, "What are you implying?"

"Jeez, do I have to spell it out for you?" he shouted. "I'm saying we need to hook up."

The heiress blankly stared at the boy in front of her, "You have _got_ to be kidding me," she said as she turned to walk away.

She was stopped when she felt Cardin's brutish hand grip her arm, "Don't turn your back on me, bitch!" he roared.

Weiss shot her deadly glare right into Cardin's eyes, "Let go of me this instant, Cardin, or, I promise you, you will never see the light of tomorrow."

The color drained from Cardin's face and he quickly released the heiress.

"Leave her alone, Cardin!" cried Ruby as she sped to her teammate's side with Blake and Yang in tow.

"Scram, Little Red! This is between me and the heiress," demanded Cardin.

Blake and Yang had caught up, "Can't you understand that Weiss doesn't want to talk to you?" Blake questioned.

Weiss let out a quick sigh, "I had this under control…" she whispered under her breath as she watched the rest of team CRDL back up their leader.

"You three better back off right now," Cardin voiced with newfound confidence.

Without hesitation, Yang started to turn, only to be stopped by Blake, " _Yang_ … she's your teammate," she pleaded. Yang was the only one on their team who always carried her weapons on her at all times. It was convenient for her to do so because Ember Celica, Yang's gauntlets, collapsed into a pair of stylish bracelets when she was not using them. This whole situation with Cardin would end much faster if Yang was there in the event of the conflict escalating.

Yang let out a groan and her first word since she arrived, "… _fine,"_ she stepped in between Weiss and Cardin. "Alright, Cardin. It's time for you to leave the Ice Queen alone," she started. "I don't care why you started bugging her, but you can bet your ass I saw you grab her, and I can't allow you to do that to any of my teammates," no one could see Weiss raise an eyebrow, "So are you gonna leave her alone?" the brawler extended Ember Celica, "Or do I have to show you out?"

Cardin stared at her gauntlets and sighed, "Yeah, I think we'll just go that way," he trudged away from the group.

"That's what I thought," Yang said triumphantly.

"Yeah! Great job Yang! Team RWBY: one; big bad bullies: zero!" Ruby cheered.

Blake and Yang laughed at her sister's enthusiasm as they all turned around, only to find Weiss walking away without saying a word.

"What is her _problem?"_ Yang put her hands on her hips.

Ruby watched Weiss walking farther away and shrugged.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello readers! This fanfiction is currently all posted on fanfiction.net! I will be posting the superior, edited version on AO3 if you are satisfied with waiting a little while! Thanks for reading and please leave a review!


	2. Restless Days

The afternoon light gleamed brilliantly off Myrtenaster. The weapon had a likeness to its owner. They were both deadly yet elegant.

Weiss had just finished polishing her rapier for the third time that afternoon and was still perplexed by what Yang had said to Cardin on her behalf. She could not help but wonder if the blonde brawler meant a single word of it. Would she truly be willing to fight for _her_ like she would for the rest of her team, or was she spewing out nonsense so Cardin would back off?

The heiress was leaning towards the latter mostly because Blake had to reason with Yang first.

She considered polishing Myrtenaster a fourth time so she could dwell upon the subject for a while longer, but a glance at her scroll told her she had avoided her team long enough. With her weapon now stowed in her locker, Weiss left the locker room and headed back to the dorm building.

As she walked, she could not rid the recent memory of Yang standing up for her from her mind. Weiss was unsure if she would ever do the same for her. She supposed she was inclined to because she was on a team with the blonde. But did that mean Yang was predisposed to stand up for Weiss?

_Why am I making such a big deal out of this..._

Perhaps it was because she had never experienced someone defending her. Usually, she had to do that herself. But if that was the case, why was she not making a big deal out of Ruby or Blake coming to her aid too?

As she walked through the halls of the dorm building, Weiss was snapped out of her thoughts by the faint sound of voices coming from her dorm room. The door was ajar, and upon closer inspection, she recognized the voices as Yang and Blake. She checked the halls to see if they were clear and listened closely.

"I'm just saying, Yang, maybe its time you sit down with Weiss and set aside your differences so we can start acting like a team," reasoned Blake.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

_How did I know they were talking about me?_

"Why do _I_ have to be the one to make nice? I haven't done anything to her, and she _hates_ me, so why don't you talk to _her_ about making amends with _me?"_ The blonde whined.

Weiss heard the sound of a book snapping shut, probably meaning Blake was now giving Yang her full attention, "Yang, you and I both know it would be a lot harder to convince Weiss. And maybe she doesn't _dislike_ you anymore since you helped her get away from Cardin."

"Yeah? Well I wouldn't have gotten involved if you hadn't asked me to," said Yang.

The heiress rolled her eyes and scolded herself internally. 

_I don't know why I thought any differently._

She opted to avoid confronting them for now and promptly left to get some coffee.

* * *

Blake sat in silence as she listened to her blonde friend start ranting, "Do you blame me for not wanting to help her? I mean she is _constantly_ hostile towards me and just super standoffish to everyone else," she began to pace, "And who wears _that_ much makeup? I mean _come on._ Just look at _me._ I barely wear any makeup, and I have guys climbing over each other to get to me _all_ the time. And another thing! Why is it that the hot water in the shower is _always_ used up by the time I get in there? How long does _she_ spend in there? I swear, I'm going to do exactly what she said and wake up before she does just to spite her."

"Wow," was Blake's response. "It appears you don't like Weiss just as much as she doesn't like you."

"I could look past all those things if she wasn't such a cold bitch all the time. The little brat probably got everything she wanted growing up."

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Blake offered, causing Yang to scoff and turn away, "Yang, I think there is more to Weiss than you realize. I found out, just this morning, she knows exactly how long we all take to get ready for the day."

"Oh, so she's a stalker too," Yang joked.

"Possibly," Blake sat down on her bed, "But, more likely than not, she is _hiding_ something, and is putting a lot of effort into _keeping_ it hidden."

Yang turned and looked at her skeptically, "And what do you think that might be?"

"I'm not sure, but it has to do with something she does daily."

"Interesting…" the brawler smirked.

"Yang, I'm _begging_ you. _Please_ don't do anything with this information. You could end up really hurting Weiss," Blake pleaded.

"Why are you afraid of hurting the Ice Queen, she hasn't exactly been nice to you either."

"Let's just say I have my fair share of secrets, and I know how scary it is when you think people are on to you. I only told you what I know because I wanted you to try and understand what Weiss might be going through."

"Yeah yeah, speaking of the Ice Queen: it's getting late and she's still nowhere to be found."

"Do you think Ruby found her yet?"

"Let me call her," Yang pulled her scroll from her pocket to call her sister but stopped when Weiss walked in with Ruby close behind.

"Hey, guys! I found her," said Ruby while fanning herself.

"Ruby… Why are you so sweaty?" questioned Blake.

"I ran around the whole campus looking for Weiss, but she was in the dorm's cafe the whole time," whined Ruby.

Weiss set her scroll on her desk, "I sent a message to the team chat. You should have looked there," she said, grabbing a baggie and a small case from her nightstand before she walked into the bathroom.

"Weiss, could you maybe let me take a shower before you go in there?" Ruby's question went unheard as the door closed. "Oh, I guess that's ok, I can wait," she said under her breath.

Blake stood from her bed, "Ruby, we could go to the community bathroom if you'd like. I'll go with you so you're not alone."

"Yeah, I think I'll take you up on that, Blake. I _really_ stink," said the red girl as she sniffed her armpits, "Let's get some laundry done too."

As Ruby walked out of the room, Blake turned her attention to Yang, who had not taken her eyes off the heiress' scroll since she left it on her desk. Blake had a look on her face as if to say, 'please don't.'

"Blake! Are you coming?" came Ruby's voice from down the hall.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you!"

With one last look at Yang, Blake left to follow Ruby.

Yang immediately snatched up the scroll and searched through Weiss' alarms. "I am getting that hot water tomorrow, _Ice Queen,"_ she whispered to herself. After a second of searching, her eyes landed on Weiss' alarm for the weekdays. 

_Holy shit… She wakes up at four o'clock every morning?_

She could not believe it.

The team usually goes to bed at eleven o'clock. That gave Weiss only five hours of sleep every night during the week. How can anyone live off five hours of sleep? Yang was convinced The Ice Queen was not human at this point.

Yang heard the toilet flush and water from the sink start to rush down the drain. She hastily set Weiss' scroll down and rushed to climb onto her bed. Pulling out her own scroll, she set an alarm for ten minutes to four o'clock and began to play a game to appear as if she had not just invaded Weiss' privacy.

The water stopped and the heiress emerged from the bathroom. With a baggie of toiletries in hand and a fresh coat of makeup on her face, Weiss silently laid down on her bed and turned to face the wall.

_What is up with her and her makeup? Who sleeps with their makeup on?_

Yang quietly scoffed to herself and checked the time. It was now eleven o'clock, and she decided she would stop waiting for Blake and Ruby to return.

* * *

Weiss cringed at the feeling of her scroll vibrating under her pillow. This was her way of rousing herself awake without making too much noise and waking her team.

She clumsily climbed out of her bed and trudged through the opaque darkness of the dorm room. She moved about the layout of the room that was already ingrained in her mind towards the bathroom, not bothering to raise her exhausted eyelids.

Using her hands to see, she felt around the wall in search of the door handle. When she found it, she attempted to turn it while simultaneously moving forward. She was rewarded with a red mark on her forehead and a sharp pain shooting through her knee.

She bit back a curse and listened through the door. The shower was running and… Was that giggling?

Weiss' eyes shot open. 

_There's no way she would actually…_

She snapped her gaze to Yang's bed, squinting through the darkness. Yang was nowhere to be found.

_I can't believe this…_

She felt her heart beating faster. She stood there, staring at nothing in particular, in complete dismay as the seconds ticked by.

_That audacious, abhorrent brute!_

Her mind raced as she stumbled back to her bed. She attempted to calm down with a deep breath while trying to convince herself she could recover from this.

_Ok..._ _At most, Yang will be in there for thirty minutes, but maybe she got in earlier. I can probably cut thirty minutes or less out of my routine, right?_

With her mind concluded, Weiss decided to try and get a few more minutes of sleep while Yang was finishing up. Weiss did not think she would be able to fall asleep in time, but she figured it would not hurt to try.

So, Weiss laid there, and sleep continued to elude her while her mind refused to rest. She felt limp like she was going to drift to sleep at any moment, but she just could not. She thought briefly about her medication but knew she would oversleep if she took anymore.

She just laid there, rolling the bottle of pills in her hand and looking blankly at the bottom of Ruby's bunk. These pills—the key to her sleep—were responsible for the few hours of blissful slumber Weiss got every night. She was due for another shipment in Vale for more at the end of next week, so even if she did want to use some, she could not because she would not have enough to last her until then.

After what felt like an eternity, Yang pulled the door wide open and let the blinding light flow into the dorm.

Weiss shielded her eyes with her hand as Yang made her way to her bed. The blonde was dressed completely and had a toothy grin on her face, "Hey Weiss!" she attempted a whisper, "I thought about what you said yesterday, and I decided to try waking up earlier for some of that nice, relaxing, hot water. And I have to say, I am _really_ glad you told me to do that because it was _so~_ wonderful!" she patronized her.

Weiss stared at the blonde with disbelief. She was speechless as she watched Yang stroll out of the dorm room, not even acknowledging her mention she was going to the cafe to get some coffee for both of them.

The heiress snapped her attention to her scroll and saw that it was thirty minutes past four o'clock. 

_Dammit!_

She sprinted into the bathroom and proceeded to get ready.

* * *

Weiss was exhausted.

When she got into the shower, the water felt like ice on her skin and had none of the restorative properties it usually had, despite the temperature being nice and warm like normal.

She was with her team, walking to their first class of the day, and nothing was the way it should have been.

Where Weiss would normally be setting the pace for her team by briskly walking ahead of them, she was now trudging behind, hunched over and yawning.

The girls were heading to Professor Port's class on Grimm Studies. The squat man was infamous for his long, drawn-out stories from his youth and how he would conquer Grimm left and right with little struggle. Only a fool would believe everything he said, but that did not mean there was nothing to learn from the professor's words.

This actually forced Weiss to pay even closer attention so she would not miss anything that could potentially be important. Her concentration on the man was what set her apart from the other students who either tapped away on their scrolls or simply went to sleep.

When she sat next to her team in the lecture hall, Weiss believed she would be able to at least write down a few important terms or techniques during Port's impending monologue. She gripped her pen tightly, forced her eyes to widen, and lightly slapped her face to wake her up a bit.

Yang, who was sitting one seat away after Blake from the heiress, watched her and attempted to bite back a chuckle. She was _so_ enjoying this.

Weiss was so busy trying to liven herself that she did not notice Professor Port stand from his desk. A loud clearing of his throat signaled the beginning of his story, as always.

Within seconds, Weiss' head felt like a cinder block. Tons and tons of weight were added to her eyelids.

The man's words were like a lullaby to her, and Yang's stifled giggles were like mocking chatter from an imp. Once again, her ire for the blonde rose to new heights.

Weiss decided she would not let Yang hear the end of it when she was able to.

The heiress tried to think of ways she could get back at the blonde, but her mind was too unfocused. Every coherent thought was followed by a blank as her head drooped down, only to be jerked back up when she realized she was slipping.

Through sheer willpower—and a few nudges from Blake—she was successful in obtaining two bullet points worth of notes. Her handwriting was barely legible, and she had written in incomplete sentences, so she more or less had no idea what she was trying to say to her future self through these notes.

With a frustrated groan, she stood up, crumpled up her notes into a little ball, and threw them at Yang. She missed her mark and ended up hitting Ruby in the head.

Ruby turned around and picked up the wad of paper, "Weiss, I think you dropped this," she presented it to the girl in question.

"Keep it, Ruby," she growled as she pushed past the smaller girl.

"Yeesh, looks like _somebody_ woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Ruby nudged Blake.

"Yeah," Blake looked right into Yang's eyes, "I wonder why."

Yang just smirked in response.

* * *

Weiss thought her condition would improve as the day went on and as she attended her more interesting classes.

She believed she would have no problems staying awake in her history class, for example. The class was taught by the most energetic man she had ever known: Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck. His hyper nature was almost contagious.

So, she was understandably angry when she felt Blake nudge her again when she would put her head down.

At that point, she just gave up on trying to focus and hoped Blake had taken some detailed notes.

"I just don't understand!" she vented to Ruby as the team walked to the dining hall for lunch, "I had my morning coffee and everything! Why can't I stay focused for more than seven seconds!"

Weiss had come to the conclusion that half an hour shaved off her precious morning shower was not enough to hit her this hard.

"Maybe you should try sleeping more. You could go to bed earlier. I'll move the team's bedtime back," Ruby tried to help out her teammate.

The heiress sighed and looked at the paved path below her, "I get enough sleep," she lied.

She really hoped this was a one and done deal from Yang. She was not sure if she could survive another day like this.

As the team arrived at the dining hall, Yang _generously_ offered to get coffee for everyone. Normally, everyone would get their own beverage, but Weiss was too exhausted to walk anymore. She just wanted to put her head down at the table her team was situated at.

Weiss knew Yang's acts of kindness towards her was just a way to patronize her further, but the heiress just could not refuse the energizing beverage. She took the hit to her pride.

She reached for one of the cups in Yang's carrier, only for Yang to yank it away, "Hold on Ice Queen, that one is Ruby's. I know you don't like all of that cream and sugar in there," said Yang.

Weiss examined Yang's face before accepting a cup of coffee that she offered her. As soon as it was in her hands, she opened the lid and looked inside for any oddities. It was just the way she liked it: no sugar or cream.

"I didn't poison it or anything if that's what you're worried about," Yang teased.

Weiss gave her a look and took a sip. It tasted slightly different, just like the coffee she had this morning, but she was too tired to care.

She practically chugged the rest, desperate for some energy. Yang watched her and let out a chuckle before sitting down, herself.

The heiress waited for the coffee to kick in with her head down as her team chatted amongst themselves. As the minutes passed, however, she only felt more irritable. She let out a feral growl and slammed her fist on the table.

"Weiss, maybe you should head to the dorm and relax a bit," Blake calmly suggested.

Weiss glared at her and put her head back down. She decided she would snooze for a few minutes while her team ate lunch. She found that she was unable to sleep, however.

She raised her head again at the sound of more people sitting at their table. Team JNPR had just sat down and Weiss lost all hope in the possibility of her going to sleep naturally.

"Woah! What is up with the Ice Queen today?" said Nora Valkyrie much too loudly. "Look at those bags! Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Bags?" Weiss' puffy red eyes widened for the second time of the day. It was like she got a rush of adrenaline and could finally think clearly as she tore her scroll from her pocket and used its camera to view her face.

It appeared the glue under her left eye had barely started to peel due to the skin around her eye getting loose and forming bags. She had to get to her room this instant.

"Blake, I think I will take you up on your offer and relax for a while in the dorm if that's alright with everyone," she kept her gaze low.

"It's no problem, Weiss. I hope you feel better!" said Ruby.

"Don't worry Weiss, I've been taking notes for you all day and will continue to do so," chimed in Blake.

With that, Weiss dashed out of the dining hall and back to the dorms.

* * *

Once again, Weiss found herself in front of a mirror. All it took was a bit of glue and some makeup and her skin looked flawless yet again. But it also looked fake.

Before her scar, she wouldn't wear any makeup. She didn't need to because she was always told she was stunning, with or without it.

It actually ran in the family. Her mother was beautiful, her sister was beautiful, and she was beautiful. Another fear she had, now that her face had been tarnished by her scar, was that people would see her as less beautiful than the rest of her family. Like she was no longer worthy of being a Schnee.

She pushed away some unpleasant memories and removed herself from the bathroom: away from that damned mirror. Now she had to figure out a way to spend the rest of her day cooped up in her dorm room and unable to sleep.

* * *

It was now well into the afternoon and all of Yang's classes were over. Ruby and Blake wanted to get some extra sparring in with Jaune's team, but the brawler had a certain someone to check up on.

Yang thought she was a genius. Not only had she ruined the Ice Queen's morning routine, but she had been giving her decaffeinated coffee all day. In fact, she held another one in her hand right now and was eager to give it to said Ice Queen.

She arrived at her dorm room and entered without a second thought, "Sup, Ice Queen. I brought you some…" She paused at the sight of Weiss sitting on her bed with a small bottle in her hands, "Coffee..."

Weiss, her eyes now on the blonde, swiftly put the bottle behind herself, "Yang! W-where are Blake and Ruby?" she faltered.

"Sparring with JNPR…" she set the cup on Weiss's bedside dresser, "What was that?"

"You will have to be more specific."

"Whatever you just put behind your back," Yang rolled her eyes.

"My vitamins," she didn't miss a beat. "I have a deficiency in vitamin D."

"I guess that shouldn't surprise me, given your sickly, pale complexion," she grinned.

The heiress was not amused, "Don't be a pest."

She slipped the pills into her handbag and lied down, facing the wall. Within seconds, Weiss was out like a light and her decaffeinated coffee remained untouched on her dresser right next to where she set her handbag.

Yang sat down on Blake's bed and let her gaze fall on the heiress' handbag.

_There is no way those pills are vitamins._

Weiss was acting strange when Yang walked in. She knew Yang saw her slip the bottle behind herself and still feigned ignorance.

Also, who would try to hide vitamins? It wasn't like having a deficiency in vitamin D was anything to cry about; even by the Ice Queen's standards.

She was probably hiding some drugs in there or something. Maybe she was high right now?

_What kind of stuff could the Ice Queen possibly be into?_

As she sat there, the brawler's curiosity only grew and she knew there was no point in resisting the urge to peek one last time.

Yang quietly stood up from the bed and padded her way to Weiss. After looking over the heiress and making sure she was definitely asleep, she reached for the handbag.

She sifted through its contents before coming across the bottle. 

_What is this…? Temazepam? Some kind of crazy drug I haven't heard of before?_

A quick scroll search told her these pills were a type of sleeping pills. Apparently, they were for treating extreme cases of insomnia.

Yang looked up at Weiss' sleeping form with concern and a hint of something else in her eyes. She could hear her quiet breaths as she put everything back, just the way she found it.

_Ah, man… Blake was right... Weiss totally was hiding something._

Guilt hit her like a sucker punch to the jaw. She wondered how many of the five hours Weiss slept at night were actually spent sleeping. How many times she would wake up in the middle of the night to take more pills or try to get back to sleep.

The brawler mentally kicked herself when she thought of all the things she put Weiss through today. She was exhausted all day, but could not go to sleep, and Yang denied her some caffeinated coffee so she could at least function for the day.

On the other hand, it was not Yang's fault The Ice Queen needed sleeping pills. It was her own fault because she pushes friends that want to help her out away and overworks herself for the sake of overachieving everything.

It was not enough for the Ice Queen to be at the top of her class. She had to be leagues ahead, and for what? To feel good about herself? To feel like a perfect little princess?

_I should do this to her every morning. I'd love to see how long it takes for her to go crazy... But I was feeling a little tired today, myself, from having less than five hours of sleep. And that hot water was so overrated…_

Yang decided she would stop tormenting Weiss this way. It _totally_ wasn't because she felt sympathetic towards the heiress. She just didn't care for the hot water enough to keep it up.

Yeah, that was it~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please leave a review!


	3. Challenged

Once again, a new day had dawned on Beacon Academy. Weiss and the rest of her team were getting ready without any problems.

She felt infinitely better, which meant it was time to punish a certain someone for their little prank.

She calmly sat on her bed while she waited for Yang to come out of the bathroom. Blake and Ruby assumed positions sitting on Blake's bed.

"So, Weiss… How are you feeling?" Ruby asked timidly.

Weiss looked into the younger girl's silver eyes and watched as they found something interesting in the corner of the room, "Better," was her one word in response.

"That's good…" Ruby began to play with her cape, "Is something still bothering you?" she could feel the heiress' icy blues pierce through her.

"I already told you I felt better, what makes you say that?"

"N-nothing! Nothing makes me think that! I-it was a dumb question. Totally dumb!" Ruby panicked.

Blake came to her rescue, "Weiss, it's just that you've had that scowl on your face all morning. Was it something Yang did?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"What gave it away," the heiress rolled her eyes.

With their conversation over, Weiss got to work filing her nails until her gaze fell on the cold cup of coffee that sat on her bedside dresser. The third cup Yang had brought her yesterday.

She snatched the cup and removed the lid. She examined the dark liquid before bringing the cup to her face.

"Uh, Weiss? That coffee has got to be cold after sitting there all night," commented Ruby.

Weiss looked at her incredulously, "No Ruby, it's actually piping hot. Care to take a sip?" she mocked.

Ruby looked at her toes, "You don't have to be mean about it," she mumbled.

Weiss brought the cup to her face again and breathed in its scent. Her ire grew exponentially.

Sensing something was terribly wrong, Blake placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Ruby and I are feeling famished right now. How about you meet us in the dining hall later, Weiss?" she dragged a confused Ruby out of the dorm room.

Weiss was seething as she grew impatient, waiting for Yang to leave the bathroom.

_How did I not realize Yang was giving me decaf all day yesterday! No wonder I was so drowsy!_

She was disappointed in herself. It appeared she might have underestimated the blonde. She was definitely smarter than she looked. Or maybe Weiss was just so unfocused that she failed to notice the change in smell and taste of that coffee.

The bathroom door finally flew open and the blonde brawler strode out. Her messy blonde mane seemed to emit a golden glow throughout the room.

The heiress immediately rushed in front of Yang and stuck an accusatory finger in her face, "You have been giving me decaf!"

Yang pushed the finger away, "Good morning to you too," she smugly walked past her.

"I will not stand for this behavior, you brute! I swear to Oum, if my grades slip even slightly, I will _ruin_ you!"

"Hey, you asked for it!" Now Yang was pointing her finger at the heiress, "You literally _told_ me to wake up earlier, so I did. I did what _you_ told me to do."

"I did not mean you should wake up before _me!"_

"Why does it matter if I wake up before you, huh? And by the way, why do you wake up at four o'clock in the morning anyway? I refuse to believe anyone can spend _that_ long in the shower…" the blonde's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "Unless, you are doing something _else_ in the shower…"

Weiss' cheeks turned a deep red, "I-I don't do that sort of thing. I have much more important matters to spend my free time on."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Well, _that_ explains why you're so crabby all the time."

The anger returned to Weiss' features, "How do you even know when I wake up every morning? What, are you watching me sleep now? Just to pull some stupid gag on me?"

Yang crossed her arms and chuckled at the irony, "Ha! You're one to talk, _Ice Queen._ You know exactly when all of us wake up in the morning _and_ how long each of us takes in the bathroom!" Weiss took a step back, "So let me ask you: are _you_ watching all of _us_ sleep now? And more importantly, what are you planning to do now that you know all that stuff?"

"I…" Weiss stopped herself and sped out of the dorm room towards the dining hall with an aggravated groan.

Yang watched the door, her lilac irises had a tint of red in them. 

_You didn't answer my question…_

* * *

The blonde had proven why the heiress holds so much indignation for her.

Yang was starting to figure her out. She was asking too many questions, and Weiss needed to come up with a way to get her off her back.

It would not be easy, however, because one thing she now knew about Yang was that she was excessively stubborn.

Weiss did not want to be overly harsh with the brawler, but she was running out of options and patience.

She decided she would settle for a little public embarrassment for Yang at the end of the day...

Once the two girls arrived at the dining hall, they split up to get their breakfast.

Weiss opted to get her usual morning coffee while Yang decided she would eat a large meal of eggs and bacon with a tall glass of orange juice.

The heiress, who could not stand to look at the blonde, went to the lecture hall where their first class of the day was.

She sat in the empty room and got her notes in order while drinking her coffee.

When she finished, she checked the time and saw she had twenty minutes before class started.

With nothing to distract her mind, Weiss began to think of Yang again. She did not want to think about her anymore and decided she needed something to distract herself with.

She pulled out a notebook and prepared to draw. It had been weeks since she had drawn anything, but her skill was still mostly there.

She had become adept at the art of pencil sketching. It's what happens when someone is stuck in their own room for weeks.

With her mind calmed, her drawing took shape and became a female figure that was dancing.

She started sketching the dancing girl's dress. It had a low-cut design, was knee-length, and flared up at the bottom.

She was so engrossed in her art that she failed to notice people start trickling into the room. She did, however, notice her team sit around her.

The heiress looked over her faceless dancer and put her notebook away to complete her drawing later.

"We missed you at breakfast, Ice Queen," Yang's smug attitude had returned.

"Stop calling me that," Weiss calmly replied. She knew this would be a long day. 

* * *

For the first few classes of the day, Weiss wanted to rip her own hair out. Yang and her smug attitude had gotten on the heiress' nerves early in the day, and she acted adversely all morning.

Eventually, Yang's attitude went from smug to adverse as well, and now both girls were unwilling to speak to each other.

Now, they headed to the dining hall for lunch.

The usual table was already occupied with team JNPR, Blake, and Ruby. There was small chatter amongst Nora telling the table about her most recent Grimm encounter until Weiss and Yang sat down with an aura of hostility and resentment for the other.

They both wore scowls on their faces and refused to even look at each other.

The table was now completely silent. Even Nora had stopped babbling for once.

After several minutes of silence, Pyrrha was the one to attempt to ease tensions first as she awkwardly cleared her throat, "So… Weiss, you look much better today. I trust you had a good night's rest, then?"

"Yes," Weiss answered, "No thanks to _her_ , I'm afraid," she nodded her head towards the blonde.

Yang tightened her grip on the table but said nothing.

Pyrrha looked around the table for help. Receiving none, she delved further, "What do you mean by that…?" she carefully questioned.

" _She_ is responsible for my condition yesterday. All just for some stupid prank."

"Hey! You told me to do it, Ice Queen! Remember?" Yang glared at the heiress.

"Okay guys, let's just calm down for a se—" Jaune tried.

"Shut up, Jaune!" howled Weiss and Yang simultaneously.

Blake leaned her head on one hand, "Yang, this is why I asked you not to pull anything on Weiss."

Weiss' glare shot to Blake, "You knew about this!? Why didn't you stop her or warn me!?"

Blake flinched, "I… Uh, well—," she was cut off by an authoritative clearing of the throat.

All heads at the table turned and saw Professor Glynda Goodwitch. Her arms were crossed and she had her riding crop in hand.

"I would like to speak with Miss Schnee and Miss Xiao Long in private," her commanding tone left no room for argument.

Weiss immediately stood up, "Of course, Professor Goodwitch."

Yang stood up as well and started to follow the professor out of the dining hall.

The heiress looked at Blake, "This isn't over, Belladonna," she left to follow Yang without another word.

_What did that oaf do to make Goodwitch want to see her? And what did she do to make Goodwitch want to see me too? I did nothing wrong…_

Weiss caught up to Yang and now walked beside her. Both of them followed the professor and neither of them dared to speak.

Eventually, they came to a stop in front of Professor Peach's lecture hall.

Professor Goodwitch opened the door and gestured inside, "Both of you, please have a seat."

Yang shared a cautious glance with Weiss and did as they were told.

When they sat down, they were greeted by Professor Peach, "Hello Miss Schnee, Miss Xiao Long, you both aren't in any sort of trouble, so you can relax now."

The two girls let out the breaths they did not know they were holding and relaxed their postures.

Professor Goodwitch walked around Professor Peach's desk and stood by her side, "I'm sure you both know about the annual autumn dance the academy is hosting."

Both girls nodded their heads.

"Well, I would like to ask if you two would like to plan the dance?" asked Professor Peach, "Should you accept, you both would have creative control over almost every aspect of the dance."

Yang looked dumbstruck, "I'm sorry, what?"

"What she means is: why us?" asked Weiss.

"Oh! That's right, you are first-year students. Allow me to explain," Professor Peach began, "One of the little traditions we have, here at Beacon Academy, is having students plan the dances. The way we pick whoever plans the dance is simply through a raffle of all the teams currently attending the academy. Then, we choose two people from that team to design the dance. You two were chosen this year. You have the option to decline our proposal if you wish."

The girls looked at each other again, "What happens if we decline?" said Yang.

"We raffle again, and if they decline as well, we raffle a third time. And if _they_ decline too, we put up a volunteer signup sheet in the dining hall and randomly pick a pair of students," answered Professor Goodwitch.

"So," Professor Peach piped in, "Will you plan the autumn dance?"

Weiss was interested in planning the dance, but she loathed the fact Yang was selected to do it with her. She would have much preferred Ruby or Blake for this.

Regardless, she accepted, and so did Yang.

"Very well. You may visit the hall where the dance will take place to get a bearing on what you will do. You have a budget that the academy will provide you, but you will have to pay for anything extra you want after the budget is met. You are excused from the rest of your classes if you choose to visit the hall now, but only for today. All other planning and preparation will happen on your own time," said Professor Goodwitch.

"We understand, Professor. Thank you both for this opportunity," said Weiss. 

* * *

Weiss and Yang walked, side by side, following the paved path towards the dance hall. It felt like the closer they got to their destination, the more palpable the tension between them grew.

Both of them were angry with each other, but they also knew they had to work together for this dance.

Weiss hoped Yang would not be so stubborn about it. She just wanted to do this her way. Or at least as close to her way as possible.

It was time for the students of Beacon to find out what a Schnee party was like.

She could picture it now: there would be a live band playing songs of all types in the corner, every table would have an ornate vase with all kinds of beautiful flowers, pristine, silk table clothes of the highest quality, and a sizable ice sculpture on the back wall behind the table with a vast variety of drinks and non-alcoholic beverages.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Ice Queen?" Yang finally broke the silence.

Weiss refused to look at her, "Nothing," she said bitterly.

"You know, it was a simple question. Would it kill you to answer _just_ once?" Yang begged.

Weiss looked at her and forced herself to relax.

_Maybe if I play nice for a while, it will be easier for me to plan this dance the way I want to._

"I was just thinking about what we should do for this dance," she spoke.

Yang raised her eyebrows, "Wow, I really didn't expect you to actually listen to me. It's a nice change of pace, Ice Queen."

"I told you to stop calling me that," said Weiss.

Yang chuckled in response.

Again, there was silence, this time it was awkward.

Yang could not stand it and spoke up again, "Can I ask you something?"

Weiss smirked at the blonde, "You just did."

The brawler was visibly taken aback, "You're cracking jokes now? Who are you?" Weiss just kept smirking as they continued down the path. "But seriously... Why do you… Push people away all the time. Like, when you and Ruby first met, and even when you and I first met to some extent, we wanted to be your friends, but… It felt like you just wanted to make enemies."

It seemed Weiss forgot why she let her guard down for a second, "It… It makes it easier…" she managed.

Yang looked at the heiress and examined her face. It was so different than the scowl she usually wore. Now she looked broken... Hurt, even.

It was like seeing Weiss for the first time. The _real_ Weiss. A regular girl, hardly different than any other.

"What's easy—" she was cut off by Weiss pointing in front of her.

"There it is! The building we will use for the dance," said Weiss as she sped inside.

Yang stood there, absentmindedly for a few seconds before she walked in, herself.

"Holy…" said Yang as she took in the sight.

The hall was voluminous and void of any furniture. There was the main dance floor that had a glossy wooden finish. It was surrounded by patterned carpets on three of the four sides of the square-shaped dance floor. In the far back of the hall, there was a staircase that lead somewhere outside.

Yang looked up and saw there was a second floor that trailed along the inside perimeter of the hall where people could look down to what was going on below. And right in the center, overlooking everything from above, was a grand, crystal chandelier.

Yang watched as Weiss walked up the steps in the back to the outdoor area and followed her. When she stepped into the daylight, she let out a long whistle. The outdoor area was a large semi-circle balcony with a great view of Vale in the distance.

"Check out that view…" Yang was dumbstruck.

"It _is_ quite magnificent," agreed Weiss.

Weiss looked around the balcony and decided some potted plants where necessary to bring some life and a few drops of color to the stone balcony. She made a mental note and went back inside, leaving Yang to marvel at the view by herself.

She decided the dance would be a formal occasion. She would supply the students with a taste of the high life.

"Have you thought of anything you want to do yet?" Yang was now behind her.

Weiss turned to face the blonde, "I believe the balcony is in desperate need of a few, large potted plants."

"Yeah, definitely," Yang agreed, "Oh! And we could totally have a DJ way in the back, over there. And we'll give him some serious speakers to work with, like, the biggest we can afford with the budget we have. We'll need some multicolored lights that we can put on the ceiling too."

"Absolutely not!" Weiss stomped in front of the brawler, "There are enough _raves_ in Vale."

"Well, raves are fun," Yang rebutted, "What did you have in mind, Ice Queen?"

"I want to give the common people a real taste of a Schnee party. I want servers to walk through tables and provide people with all kinds of different foods and drink. I want the whole scene to look beautiful, and _clean._ I want the people who attend to act like proper human beings in a formal environment, not like animals in a jungle," said Weiss.

"Oh my gosh! Could you stop being such a proper little princess for _one_ night? Maybe loosening up a little will do some good for you!" shouted Yang.

"Well, what about you! Don't you want to at least _try_ to go to a high-class party? It would definitely help _you_ with your brutish way of life!"

"There is nothing wrong with my 'way of life!' People enjoy loud music and colorful, flashing lights. No one would like a formal party!"

"You don't know that! Not all people are as tawdry as yourself!"

"Excuse me? What does that even mean?"

"It means you're trashy, Yang. People like you come a dime a dozen!"

Yang's eyes erupted into a dangerous crimson color, "UGH! You are the worst! You are such a fucking cold, icy _bitch!_ You think you are _so_ much better than everyone else, but you're not! You are just a little princess who grew up with so much money, you just had someone else take care of all your problems for you!"

"You don't know a thing about me! But _I_ have seen enough to know exactly what _you_ are. You are stubborn, brash, and you are _dangerously_ impetuous! You see an obstacle, and the first thing you think to do is use your fists! Even now your fists are raised and you are ready to hit me!"

Yang looked at her fists. Weiss was right, her fists had been lifted up in an offensive position without her noticing.

Weiss continued, "You're just a feral brute who literally cannot control herself," she turned her back on the brawler and started to walk away.

Yang's hair started to simmer and the room seemed to burn, "Don't turn your back on me!"

Weiss turned again and placed her hands on her hips, waiting for Yang to continue.

Yang's rage abated slightly and she stood up straight, her eyes still a deep vermilion, "Alright, Weiss. What do you say to a little _friendly wager?"_

Weiss looked at her cautiously, "I'm listening…"

Yang smirked and crossed her arms, "Let's have a friendly sparring match. The winner gets to plan the dance. _Alone."_

The heiress could not believe what she was hearing, "Did you _not_ hear what I just said? Be civil for once!"

"Do you accept the bet, or not, Ice Queen?" Yang loudly tapped her foot.

"Of course not!"

"What, are you scared you'll lose? I know you would love a chance to hit me, but do you think you could handle me hitting you back?"

"N-no! I'm not afraid I'll lose, it's just that this is not the right way to compromise over who gets to plan the dance," said Weiss.

The blonde groaned as her frustration grew once again, "Well, I guess I can list 'coward' under words that describe you," she plodded towards the door.

Weiss glared at her back as she flung the door open, "Where do you think you're going? Professor Goodwitch specifically said we were only excused from our classes if we stay here."

"On a walk," said Yang, brusquely, as the door shut behind her.

Weiss sighed and turned to view the vast interior again. She wanted to think about what else she could do for the dance, but her mind was dominated by what Yang said.

She was _totally_ afraid of losing to Yang in a sparring match. If Yang won, she would tell everyone, and Weiss would never hear the end of it.

The heiress' pride would take a catastrophic hit and on top of that, the dance would be at Yang's mercy.

She had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

Or did she?

If she won the spar, it could be her opportunity to get back at Yang for her little stunt yesterday. She would simultaneously kick the blonde down a notch and get to design the dance without interruption from her.

And Weiss _would_ love a chance to hit Yang…

But could she defeat Yang?

_I have years of training, and I've killed a Geist Grimm before… M_ _aybe it won't be so different fighting Yang…_

* * *

Yang let out a loud wail as her fist plunged through a beowolf's chest. Her kill count rapidly approached the fifties since she arrived at the Emerald Forest after her argument with Weiss.

Ever since she met the heiress, she had been itching to punch her in her pristine little chin.

Punching the Grimm with her gauntleted fists did little to satisfy her hunger. She was still angry and still full of energy.

After clearing out all Grimm in her immediate vicinity, she glanced at her scroll to check the time.

At this point, their last class would get out in about fifteen minutes.

"Goddammit!" she shouted to the heavens. She spent hours out in the forest disemboweling every Grimm in sight to blow off some steam, but she only felt angrier.

She shot a shell from her gauntlet at a lone creep that had poked its ugly head out at the noise and marched towards the academy.

Her eyes had barely changed back to their natural lilac color since her dispute with Weiss and it was starting to give her a headache.

This only seemed to add to her anger as she shattered a boulder that was in her path.

She brushed the pebbles off her clothes and looked at the large CCT that was now in sight as she emerged from the forest.

"When I see her, I'm going to make her _want_ to fight me," she trudged through the courtyard and back to the dorm building.

She didn't bother messaging Weiss asking where she was because she knew she would still be at the dance hall, planning that stupid Schnee party.

When she got to her dorm, she unlocked the door with her scroll and burst into the room.

The blonde was caught off guard when she saw Weiss sitting on her bed and froze.

Weiss, who had dropped her scroll when the door flew open, stood up, "Yang, I change my mind. I accept your challenge."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	4. Punished

It was minutes before the last classes of the day would get out, but Weiss and Yang were not in class at the moment.

Right now, they walked side by side in complete silence. Both girls were heading to the sparring room where they would fight to determine who would receive the privilege of designing every aspect of the autumn dance.

Weiss snuck a glance at the blonde, curious about what she was thinking.

The girl was currently chewing the inside of her cheek in anticipation of the upcoming battle. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she was slightly hunched over. Weiss looked at her hands and noticed they were curled into tight fists. Her knuckles were white and she did not look happy.

But she did not exactly look angry either. She looked… Almost hungry. Like she was a predator in the wild about to pounce and sink her teeth in some unsuspecting prey.

Weiss shook the thought of Yang biting her out of her mind.

The heiress had no clue about what to think of Yang's body language. She could not tell if Yang really wanted to hurt her so badly, or maybe just relieve some stress.

Weiss cleared her mind as the two approached the doors to the sparring hall. She suddenly felt a huge weight in the pit of her stomach. She was really doing this.

They entered the hall and were met with the familiar sight of the sparring ring. It was a simple, large circle with polished wooden floors. There were high walls around the circle that made the arena look like a voluminous hole in the ground where spectators could watch from above. There were seats along the outer perimeter of the high walls that were protected by energy shields in case some fighter got out of control.

As soon as they walked in, they noticed two students currently sparring and other students watching from the seats above.

Weiss checked the time on her scroll and realized classes were still in session.

Professor Goodwitch, the teacher of this class, noticed the two girls walk in and briefly exited the arena towards them.

"What are you two doing here? I made it specifically clear that you were only excused from class if you stayed at the dance hall while you made plans," scolded Goodwitch.

Weiss froze and started panicking internally. 

_How could I be so careless! I knew this was a bad idea!_

The heiress was about to spout her apologies when Yang spoke up, "We just wanted to come here to tell you we were done for today, Professor Goodwitch. We weren't sure if you just wanted us to head to our current class or check in with you," she lied.

"I see… Well, I suppose I should have specified. You may go to class now—" as soon as the last word left the professor's lips, the students funneled out of the room. The class had ended, "It seems classes are over for the day. I have work to do. You may use the arena if you wish," she left the hall.

Weiss was impressed. The lie Yang told felt almost natural. It was like she would not let anyone, not even _The_ Professor Glynda Goodwitch, get in her way of this spar. This made the heiress a little nervous.

The room was now empty and quiet. The students had all left to spend the rest of their day however they saw fit.

Yang turned to Weiss and held out her hand, "Give me your scroll and go get your sword from the locker room," she said.

" _What?_ Why do you want my scroll?" questioned Weiss.

"To hook up your aura level to the big screen. Unless you want to spar without it and risk one of us getting hurt. You know, in case the other doesn't realize their aura is depleted," Yang put her hand on her hip.

There was a large screen on the wall of the arena that displayed the amount of aura a person had. It was used to determine when it was time to stop a spar and declare a victor without serious injury. The deafening buzz it played was almost impossible to miss.

Weiss felt foolish for forgetting such an important thing. Her growing nerves were getting in the way of her logical thinking, "I was just making sure…" she fibbed as she pulled out her scroll.

"Yeah, okay," said Yang as she plucked the piece of technology from Weiss' hand and walked off to set up their spar.

The heiress glared at the blonde brawler's back before turning around, herself, to retrieve Myrtenaster from her locker.

Her nerves quickly shifted to exasperation. How dare Yang be so curt with her.

She barged into the locker room and reached for her scroll to open her locker.

She stamped her heel on the ground when she remembered she had just given it to Yang, "What is _wrong_ with me right now?" she shouted to herself.

Rather than go back to Yang to get her scroll, Weiss tried to remember her manual code to her locker. She usually used her scroll to open her locker, so it took her until her fourth try to get it open.

She grabbed her rapier and slammed her locker shut. The heiress stomped halfway back to the arena before she realized she had forgotten her vials of dust to load into her weapon.

Weiss groaned and rolled her eyes as she made a one-eighty, "I cannot fight Yang in this state!"

Her anger was making her forgetful and sloppy. The heiress' nerves began to eat her again at the thought of her losing to Yang due to her disgruntled state.

As she slowly trod back to her locker, she started to think about how she would defeat Yang. They were both first-year students at one of the most prestigious academies on Remnant, so she felt it was safe to assume they were of equal skill.

This fight would be determined by strategy.

She could not let Yang get too close to her. If the brawler got within her guard, there would literally not be enough room for her to move.

Weiss thought a good way to prevent Yang from getting too close for comfort was to basically use her rapier as a glorified poking stick. She happened to be proficient in doing that.

The only problem with that strategy is that jabs from her rapier were predictable and easily sidestepped or parried. She was unsure if Yang would be able to pull off such feats with her weapon of choice.

If she was quick enough, she probably would not have a problem at first, but she knew going into the fight without more than one plan of attack was unwise.

She arrived at her locker again and mindlessly grabbed all the correct vials of dust as she thought about this further.

From what she remembered from Yang's spars with other students, the brawler usually started out on the defensive and got more aggressive as her aura got more depleted.

To any other fighter, this strategy would almost always result in a crippling defeat. But for Yang, this strategy let her use her semblance to its fullest. When she was hit, she could dish it back out twice as hard.

With her weapon now loaded with dust, Weiss started back to the arena.

Weiss decided she would counter Yang's strategy by using her glyphs to leap around her and use ranged attacks to get through her defenses without getting close. That way, she could take advantage of the lack of aggression from Yang.

Even with the heiress' plan of attack ready to execute, her nerves had yet to abate.

She just hoped she was overly prepared for this "friendly spar" with Yang.

* * *

Yang resisted the urge to crush Weiss' scroll in her fist as she walked over to the control panel for the central screen that would display both of their aura levels during their spar.

She had waited a long time for the opportunity to teach that perfect little princess a lesson. The blonde was not about to let her anger for the heiress go unchecked and give her a reason to chicken out.

The brawler could hardly stand still as she finished up at the control panel. She felt almost excited to have a go at the Ice Queen.

She stood in the center of the arena, quietly seething, but her face remained emotionless.

She was growing impatient while waiting for Weiss to return and growled at the thought of her leaving her there without a word.

She snatched her scroll from her pocket and discovered that only two minutes had passed.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. The blonde was slightly successful and cleared her mind enough to remember to check her weapons to see if they were in working order.

Satisfied with her weapon check-up, Yang glanced at the entrance to the arena and felt her rage return at the sight of Weiss not being there.

"What is taking her so _damn_ long!" she expressed through a clenched jaw.

She stood there, arms crossed and Weiss's scroll in hand, just staring at her scuffed boots.

After a few more minutes of loitering, Yang shot her glare at the door at the sound of it being flung open and let out a loud, exaggerated groan, "Why do you take forever to do _everything_?" she whined after tossing Weiss her scroll.

Saying nothing, Weiss stood, tall across from Yang and raised her weapon. She pointed her chin up in defiance. Only her face failed to hide her lack of confidence.

Yang smirked, "You nervous, Ice Queen?" she taunted.

"Oh please. How could anyone get nervous around a dunce such as yourself," Weiss bit back.

Yang's smirk instantly disappeared as she clenched her teeth and got into a fighting stance. The glare she positioned on Weiss with her now red eyes emphasized the danger she was in.

Seeing this, the heiress did not have a good feeling about this and began to have second thoughts on agreeing to this spar. She thought about making an excuse to get out of it but knew that was not really an option at this point. Yang would definitely see through her lie, and the blonde calling Weiss a coward would be justified. The only way out of this was to beat Yang, and that was what she intended to do.

"Ready, Ice Queen?" Yang's tone was dangerous.

"When you are," answered Weiss.

Yang started the countdown, "Three… Two… One… _Go!_ "

As soon as that word left her lips, Yang shot a volley of quick blazing shells from her gauntlets, aimed straight for the heiress' feet.

Weiss' eyes widened as she hurriedly used her glyphs to evade the fiery explosion that formed where she stood just a second ago. She had barely enough time to recover as Yang emerged from the flames and flung herself at Weiss at blinding speeds.

Again, Weiss used a glyph to get away from and above her.

The heiress did not expect Yang to get so aggressive right out of the gate with this fight. Weiss was not a fool. She knew the brawler was angry, but the fire in her eyes right now made Weiss feel uneasy.

Yang continued her barrage of shots at Weiss. The heiress narrowly escaped each fireball that was flung at her by jumping from glyph to glyph.

Weiss could not stay on the ground for more than a second because of how fast Yang was firing upon her.

She could see Yang was getting frustrated with her inability to land a hit on her, and Weiss immediately came up with her new strategy.

Her cue was the sharp click that could be heard throughout the arena. Yang was out of ammo and Weiss needed to make sure she could not reload.

She pushed herself off a glyph and aimed the tip of her blade right at Yang's hand that was reaching for a belt of shotgun shells she brought in reserve.

Yang saw her coming, deflected the strike with her gauntlet, and followed up with a right hook aimed for Weiss' head.

Weiss ducked under it and put her new plan into action. She formed a glyph directly under both of them and froze Yang's feet to the ground.

Yang reached for Weiss' arm and tried to grab it, but the heiress had already dashed behind her where she slashed at the brawler's back. She then dashed farther away, formed five glyphs in front of her, and proceeded to fire dozens of icicles at Yang.

A few icicles shattered against Yang's aura before she punched the ice holding her in place to free herself. She dodged and weaved through the icy barrage while she attempted to reload her gauntlets.

Seeing this, Weiss dashed at her again. Yang saw this coming and rolled out of the way as Weiss skidded to a stop on the other side of the arena.

With her gauntlets now loaded again, the blonde shot at the heiress who got stuck jumping to and from glyphs once again.

Determined to not run out of ammo again, Yang faked a shot at Weiss and watched as another glyph formed a few feet away.

Her next shot was aimed at that glyph which went up in flames as Weiss landed on it.

As Weiss hit the ground, Yang propelled herself forward at her. She threw an uppercut at the heiress that only hit the air as Weiss dashed out of the way.

"Just hold still!" Yang howled as she kept up her barrage of fire at the heiress.

Weiss took to the air for the third time and waited for the brawler to attempt a fake-out again.

As soon as Yang did, Weiss lunged at her. She had taken the bait and fired at a glyph before Weiss jumped to it.

The heiress landed a solid strike just below Yang's left rib, which caused the blonde to take a knee as she grunted in pain.

Weiss' mind briefly flashed back to what happened two days ago in the dorm room. Yang had started a tickle fight with Ruby and was clearly winning. But then Ruby started to tickle Yang just under her left rib, which caused the blonde to instantly surrender the fight.

Weiss smirked as she regained her confidence. She had found her target.

Yang got to her feet and bared her teeth at the heiress. She leaped into the air, letting out a shriek, as she smashed her fist into the ground, sending ripples through the arena and forcing Weiss to jump into the air.

She formed a glyph and stood on it as she flourished her blade in an obvious display of flashiness. The heiress formed a time dilation glyph on the floor of the entire arena and created glyph platforms in a circle around Yang.

The brawler had seen Weiss use this attack before and immediately fired shells and destroyed half of the glyphs as they were being formed.

Weiss made do with the fewer number of glyphs and dashed between them, striking Yang on the way.

Yang was forced on the defensive as she deflected each strike from Weiss and kept a careful guard over her left ribs.

With each deflected strike, Yang's rage grew. She threw herself at a glyph and escaped the deadly circle before firing a shell directly in the middle of it.

Weiss saw her leave and had already fled the circle of glyphs. She now stood directly opposite to her.

Weiss closed the distance at breakneck speed and flipped over the enraged blonde, landing three strikes on the way.

Yang started to swing at Weiss, who was clearly getting in over her head and landed a left hook on her shoulder.

Weiss was sent flying and used a gravity glyph to stop her from hitting the wall. She glanced at the big screen and saw that a sizable chunk of her aura had been depleted with that hit. She was still ahead of Yang though, so she thought she could show off just a little bit more.

Weiss smirked again and flourished her blade again in an obvious attempt to taunt the brawler.

Yang stomped towards the heiress, who kept that smug expression on her face, and cracked her knuckles before throwing several quick jabs at the heiress.

Weiss swiftly blocked and dodged Yang's fists, and she was starting to get backed into a wall.

She created a gravity glyph on the wall behind her and walked, backward, up the wall, still blocking Yang's attacks.

Yang watched in disbelief as Weiss scaled the wall and leaped over her, throwing in a flip for style.

"That's _it!_ You are _dead,_ Schnee!" shrieked Yang as she sprinted at the still smirking Weiss.

Yang pounced at the heiress in an attempt to tackle her.

Weiss saw her opening and ducked under the blonde while landing a slash below her left rib again. She watched as Yang hit the ground and get up on her hands and knees.

She defiantly flipped her hair. Her victory was nearly at hand. Weiss looked at the big screen and saw that Yang's aura was just ahead of the line that marked her defeat.

It wouldn't take much now.

With victory in the bag, Weiss flourished Myrtenaster once again and formed an ice ramp that she would use to finish off her opponent. Soon, she would be in the dance hall, visualizing what she would do for the autumn dance. All without interruption from Yang.

Before the ramp was completed, Yang stood up and let out a battle cry as she smashed her fists together.

A burning heat wave exploded through the arena and completely demolished the ice ramp, sending shards throughout the room.

Weiss shielded her eyes from the blinding light that erupted from the blonde until it was dim enough to chance a look at her.

Yang's irises were blood red and her glorious blonde mane ignited in a flame that burned brighter than the sun.

The room's temperature had spiked and now felt like a furnace, and the fire in the blonde's eyes spelled murder for the heiress.

The confidence drained from Weiss' features as she leaped back away from Yang. She did not get far, however, because the frenzied brawler grabbed Weiss' foot while she was in the air.

Weiss gasped as she was flung to the other side of the arena. Her overconfidence was instantly replaced with panic as she landed on a gravity glyph and looked at the blonde.

Yang had the heiress' right boot in her hand, which Weiss had slipped out of when Yang swung her around.

The brawler hurled the boot at the heiress' head, which Weiss barely ducked under.

Yang was in front of her in a fraction of a second, already throwing punches at incredible speeds.

Weiss desperately put up her guard in a vain effort to protect herself.

The heiress repeatedly winced as half a dozen jabs bombarded her torso. She parried a hammer fist strike aimed for her shoulder and dashed back in pursuit of some space between the two of them.

Yang did not let her escape and launched herself at Weiss and landed a right hook on Weiss' left temple, knocking the tiara out of her hair and letting it flow freely.

Weiss clumsily swiped her sword outward, just barely missing Yang, and backed up as Yang pushed on her defense.

The heiress was now breathing heavily and was struggling to counter any of the blondes strikes. All the while, Yang had her teeth clenched tightly as she threw strike after strike at Weiss.

Weiss felt her energy waning, she could not keep this up and gasped as her guard was broken by a left cross to her left shoulder.

Yang exploited this opening and threw a bolo punch into Weiss' abdomen, followed by a strike to her left arm. The buzzer blasted loudly as Weiss' aura level fell behind the line.

Weiss' grip on her weapon faltered and it fell to the ground with a metallic clang.

The brawler did not relent as she depleted Weiss' aura with several strikes while Weiss attempted to block Yang's attacks with her hands.

With a loud cry, Yang landed one final uppercut in Weiss' ribs, shattering her aura and knocking the wind out of her.

The heiress was sent sprawling across the arena's floor. After lying there, struggling to breathe, for a few seconds, she clumsily propped herself up on her arms and knees. She felt a dull, throbbing pain in her ribs and clutched her lower torso.

The fire in Yang's eyes instantly dissipated as her irises changed back to their usual lilac and the flames that engulfed her hair extinguished. Her expression of anger was now one of concern, "Oh my Gods! Are you okay!? I-I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me!" she sputtered.

Weiss continued to writhe on the floor as she desperately tried to get her lungs to take in air. She felt the sting of tears in her eyes but bit her lip to keep them back.

Yang stepped closer to the heiress, "I'm so sorry—" she was stopped by a deadly glare right in the eyes from Weiss.

The color drained from Yang's face and she took a few steps back, "I-I'll go get the nurse… You stay right there!" the brawler sprinted out of the arena, leaving Weiss alone in the arena.

Now that she was alone, Weiss let herself collapse to the ground as the tears started to spill. She covered her left eye with her sleeve so the tears would not cause the glue over her scar to peel. Her body continued to ache and the pain refused to settle.

She laid there for a minute or two while she got her breathing under control. When she felt her breaths stabilize enough to get up, she limped around the room to retrieve her boot, tiara, and weapon.

She got to her boot first and put it on. When she picked up her tiara, she was heartbroken to find that it was broken into three pieces.

Weiss slipped the broken tiara into her pouch and glanced at the big screen. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sight of her aura level being completely drained and Yang's aura being barely ahead of the line.

She made her way out of the arena, not bothering to wait for Yang.

She was so close. She almost did it. But they don't give out medals for "almost."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	5. Mark of Shame

The Schnee manor was always kept clean by dozens of maids and manservants. They would spend the day dusting, vacuuming, and more for the wealthy family.

Right now, the entire left wing of the manor had no one working in it. The owner of the manor had made it clear that anyone caught in the left wing without his permission would "suffer the consequences."

Weiss Schnee was the only living soul permitted in the left wing. In fact, she could not leave if she tried. She was locked in a room, hiding from any eyes that might see her.

Just hours ago, she had defeated a Geist Grimm that took the form of a knight more than double her size, the Arma Gigas. She had not left unscathed, which is why she was stuck there.

Over her left eye was a fresh cut. The blood on her face was dry now, and she was left alone to dress her own wound.

She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, examining her new, permanent feature.

She picked up a linen cloth and made it damp under the sink. The skin around her eye still stung, so she had to rub the dried blood off as lightly as possible.

Slowly, the red around her eye gave way to a dark pink color as the blood was removed. Her usually pristine, white skin was now inflamed.

She winced when she pulled at the cut itself.

"Maybe a shower would be better…" She pondered.

Weiss hopped in the shower and washed up. The warm water felt like heaven on her tired body.

An apathetic tune reverberated throughout the alabaster walls and floor, as she sang. She skipped the shampoo to avoid getting any in her injury, stepped out of the shower, and patted her face dry.

After wrapping up her platinum hair to dry in a towel, she inspected her cut again. There was still a small amount of blood seeping out, but the wound was clean enough to dress.

She grabbed a white patch from the bag her father left her and applied some bandaging to close her cut before placing it over her eye.

The heiress stood, naked, in front of the mirror. She put her hands on the skin of her face and worked her way down. She felt her chin, her collar, and stopped at her breasts.

She turned slightly to better view her petite form and sighed. She would not openly admit it, but she wished she was as well bestowed as her sister, Winter.

Her hands traveled further, over her toned stomach and to her core.

A knock on the door pulled her from her ribald intentions, "Weiss? Are you in there?" a muffled voice questioned.

Weiss jumped, "Yes, Father. I was in the shower and just finished dressing my wound."

There was no response from her father on the other side of the door. Weiss threw on her nightgown and stepped out.

Usually, Jacques Schnee never had the time to visit his daughters. He always called them over scroll, or asked the head manservant, Klein, to tell them to meet him in his office. It was strange seeing him standing in her room.

"So, Weiss… How bad is it?" The tall man asked.

"It isn't too terribly bad. It shouldn't affect me at all," said Weiss.

Jacques looked at her skeptically, "But will it scar?"

"I'm afraid it probably will, but as I said, it shouldn't affect me."

The man's face was indifferent, "Let me see it," he said calmly.

Weiss was annoyed she had to remove the bandaging she just put in place but knew better than to whine about it. She removed the dressing, careful to avoid hurting herself.

Her father's expression shifted to a scowl, but his tone stayed the same, "This is… Undesirable. You will stay in your room until that _blemish_ heals," he turned his back to her, "You are to tell no one of your condition as well."

 _"What?"_ she could not believe what she just heard. Jacques turned his gaze back to Weiss, anger now seeping through his demeanor, "Of course, Father."

Jacques opened the door, "That's my girl," he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Weiss took a deep breath to calm herself. She felt a wetness on her left eyelash and touched the blood that had started to drip from her injury. She went back to the bathroom and put on some fresh bandages and another patch.

Now that _that_ was done, the heiress realized she had a lot of time to kill. She glanced at her personal desktop and thought about checking social media. Usually, she would not care about that sort of thing, but these were different circumstances. She did not have many friends to talk to, but she _did_ have a boyfriend of two years, Henry Marigold, who said he would call her that night.

She logged on and scrolled through her feed. She was peeved when she looked at the time and saw it was passed when he said he would call.

He was online, though. He probably just forgot.

Weiss looked at his recent posts and found an interesting picture. It was of Henry at what looked like a house party. He was kissing a girl. A girl that most definitely was _not_ Weiss.

The heiress stared at the photo with her mouth ajar. The confusion was evident in her features. At first, she did not believe it and thought it was a picture from a long time ago. He did say he used to be somewhat of a player.

Further examination of the post told her it was posted fifteen minutes ago.

Weiss slumped in her chair, her confusion was now replaced with heartbreak.

"How could he do this to me…" she whispered to herself.

She watched a tear hit her lap and quickly felt her patch. It was slightly damp now.

_Great, now I have to replace it..._ _Again._

Weiss felt the anger begin to boil in her body, "Damn you, Henry Marigold!" she grabbed her scroll.

Weiss held the scroll to her ear, waiting for her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend to answer.

" _Hey, Snow Angel. What's up?"_ the voice that once gave her goosebumps now made her want to throw up.

"Hello, Henry. I thought you said you would call me. Remember when you said you would? Before I went into my entrance exam." Weiss lured him into a trap.

" _What...? Oh, my bad. I lost track of time."_

"Really? What's distracting you? Could it be that girl you're with right now?" Weiss stood up.

"... _I don't know what you're talking about, Snow Angel,"_ Henry said after a moment's hesitation.

Weiss scoffed, "You posted a picture of yourself with some girl all over social media!"

" _Oh, right! That's just my cousin. Don't worry, Snow Angel, I'm not cheating on you or anything."_ Henry sounded so smug.

Weiss could not believe what she was hearing, "You kiss your cousins on the lips?" Weiss sent the photo to Henry.

" _Ah, shit. Baby, I'm sorry. That wasn't anything, I swear! Let's meet up, I can make you feel better~"_ said Henry.

"You are such a fucking _pig,_ Henry! I can't believe I thought I _loved_ you! We are finished!" Weiss snapped her scroll shut and just barely stopped herself from throwing it.

She sat on the bed, trying to wrap her head around what just happened when she heard her door open.

Her father walked in with a tray, "Good evening, Weiss. Because there will be no staff around this wing for some time, I will be delivering your meals to you. Personally."

Weiss accepted the tray, not knowing she was hungry until now, "Thank you, Father."

As quickly as he came in, Jacques Schnee was gone.

Weiss shook thoughts of Henry out of her mind. She sat on her bed, alone, and ate her dinner in silence.

Normally, Weiss would eat dinner in the company of Klein. She just wished Klein was here to help her with this breakup and this horrible feeling of loneliness.

When she finished eating, the heiress changed her soggy bandage for a fresh one and called it a night.

After taking her pills, she thought about how quickly her aura would heal her wound. Maybe it would not scar if she was lucky. 

* * *

Nearly a month later, Weiss no longer needed bandages to cover her left eye. The scar tissue had formed on the cut. It had actually formed weeks ago thanks to her aura, yet her father kept her locked in her room anyway.

She was curious as to why she was not allowed to leave yet. For now, she had two options while she waited for her breakfast: be bored out of her mind or do something productive.

While she was stuck in her room, she looked ahead to her coursework for the year at Beacon. She had made a sizable lead on her fellow students already, so she decided she would do something else.

She glanced at Myrtenaster in the corner and decided what she would do first.

With her rapier in hand, Weiss straightened up into her fighting stance and went over the things Winter had taught her all those years ago. It was difficult to practice without a partner to spar with, so she opted to strengthen her semblance.

She thrust her blade forward, creating a simple shield glyph in front of her. She knew it would be wise to remember the simple glyphs, so she always started with creating them as a sort of warm-up.

After going through the rest of her basic glyphs, she began to work on the more advanced ones.

She tapped the tip of her blade to the cold, tile floor and watched it glow a dull gold color as she channeled a portion of lightning dust through it.

The light started to flicker, and Weiss concentrated harder.

After almost twenty minutes of focusing, a small glyph appeared under the blade's tip. She put in even more effort and watched it grow until she could stand in it.

She lifted her blade off the ground and looked around the room. It did not look much different until she moved her blade.

Everything seemed slower. Weiss plucked the tray from her last meal, the previous night, and held it in front of her with both hands.

She let go and watched as the tray almost floated down. When it actually touched the ground, it took a split second for the clang to be heard, and the sound rang for much longer than normal.

She had successfully created a time dilation glyph.

"This is _amazing_ ," she said to herself.

Satisfied by her progress that day, Weiss packed up her weapon and sat at her desk.

Her father was still not here with her breakfast, so she decided she would start her next activity.

She opened up her drawer and pulled out one of her notebooks. She had taken to drawing in her extended stay in her room. She had gone through an entire notebook already and was now almost at the back of the one she was about to draw in.

Before her pencil touched the paper, Weiss felt a pang of curiosity and pulled out her first notebook.

She opened it to the first page and marveled at her first drawing while being stuck here. In her second notebook, she flipped to her most recent drawing and compared the two.

A light chuckle escaped her as she viewed the stark differences between them.

It was like night and day. Her first drawing was of her sister, Winter. The Atlesian Specialist stood with her arms behind her back and her posture was one that was ingrained into Weiss' imagination. The sketch was not terrible, but there were several issues with it. The proportions were off, there was no shading, and her feet were bent in an awkward angle. Weiss did not even want to look at the clothing she drew on her sister.

For the newer sketch, Weiss had drawn a young woman that was around the same age as her. She wore a striped sweatshirt and a pair of aviator sunglasses. Her hands rested in her shirt pocket and she wore an expression of indifference. Her hair was long and curly.

The whole sketch looked more relaxed and just better overall than her first one. Her proportions were nearly perfect, there was shading from a predetermined light source from the side, and there were so many small details in the clothing and face that made the sketch look far more professional.

Putting her first notebook back in the drawer, Weiss prepared for her next drawing. Without thinking, she started to draw the knight that the Geist Grimm took the form of when she did her entrance exam: The Arma Gigas.

After a while of sketching, she finally heard the familiar click of the lock on her door. It appeared she would eat breakfast at noon, according to the time.

She stood and turned to face her visitor, "Good morning, Father," she greeted.

"Good morning, Weiss," he set the tray of food on a dresser, "I apologize for your belated breakfast. I had urgent matters to attend to."

"I understand," said Weiss.

Jacques stepped closer to Weiss and turned her face with his fingers so he could view her scar. He hummed in thought after a few seconds of careful examination and left the room, locking the door.

"Good talk, Father," Weiss rolled her eyes.

Weiss cleared some space on her desk and set the tray of food on it. She sat down and ate while she worked on her sketch.

She sketched a design with her left hand on the knight's breastplate, while she used a fork in her right hand to cut off a piece of her omelet. When she popped the bite in her mouth, she chewed for a split second, stoped her drawing, and set her pencil down.

She swallowed and sighed at the cold omelet.

_This has to have been made hours ago…_

Unfortunately, there was no other food for her, so Weiss just powered through her cold, soggy omelet.

After shuddering upon completion of her meal, the heiress downed a glass of orange juice to get that _offensive_ texture out of her pallet.

We turned her attention back to her sketch and gasped when she saw a drop of juice on the page.

"Oh, no no no!" she grabbed a tissue and dabbed at the wetness.

_That's just fantastic!_

She was so tired of being stuck in this prison. The first semester of Beacon would start in just over a month and she wondered if she would still be stuck here by then.

She was tired of being stuck with her father in general. She could not remember the last time she could go to sleep without the help of her medication. Her personal physician prescribed the pills because of insomnia induced by stress. Stress that was piled onto her by her father's unreasonably high expectations.

She would finally be free when she got to Beacon.

Weiss sat in her bed with her hands in her lap. She yearned for that taste of freedom.

She let out a controlled sigh as her back hit the soft sheets of her bed. She rubbed her eyes and let her hands roam. The girl had so much tension, and she wanted to relieve it so badly, but could not risk having her father walk in on her doing anything risqué.

Through sheer willpower, she forced her hands away from her body and laid there. She laid there and watched the sunlight move from one side of the room to the other. She was getting hungry again and started to wonder when her father would be back with more food.

As if on cue, Jacques Schnee entered the room, but he did not carry a tray with him.

Before Weiss even said hello, he spoke, "Stand up, Weiss. I have something important to speak with you about."

Weiss did as she was instructed, "What may I do for you, Father?"

"I have something for you," Jacques held out a small tube, _"This_ is your new lifeblood."

The heiress took the tube in her hand and inspected it, "Cosmetic glue? What is this for, Father?"

Jacques looked at her like the answer was obvious, "To cover up that _blemish_ , of course!"

Weiss was confused, "What? Why?"

"Do you realize _you_ are the first person in this family to ever fail so miserably? There is a permanent mark right on your face! A mark that tells me, and anyone else who would see it, that _you_ are a failure! I am not happy with the choices your sister has made, but at least _she_ embodies what it means to be a true Schnee! A Schnee cannot afford the luxury of imperfection! Your sister made it to the rank of specialist in the finest military Remnant has ever seen, and she got there unscathed! You can't even destroy a single Grimm without your aura being drained, and on top of that, the damn creature left that mark on you. That is a mark of shame on your face, and you will keep it hidden out of shame! What do you think our clients would say if they saw your entrance exam? _You_ chose your career path, so as a Schnee, they expect you to finish the job flawlessly and so do I!" the man adjusted his suit jacket, "You are not going to Beacon unless you learn how to cover that _thing_ up and use that makeup of yours to make it look so convincing that you could fool _me_ into thinking your skin is perfect."

Weiss was shocked, "But, Father, surely—"

"I do _not_ want to hear it!" He interrupted and opened the door, "If anyone sees that scar… You can say goodbye to your career as a huntress," he walked out and slammed the door behind him, not bothering to lock it.

The room was quiet. The girl stood there, alone.

She collapsed to the floor and wept. Now, because of this _blemish_ , she would never be truly free from that vile man. 

* * *

Yang crashed through the doors to the arena, "She's right over…" She scanned over the empty room, "…Here?"

The nurse walked in behind her with an unamused expression, "It's not a good idea to waste my time, Hun," she said as she walked out.

 _Where did she go?_

Yang thought for a split second and ran to the locker room. She found nobody there but did check out Weiss' locker. Her rapier was not there either.

She pulled out her scroll and called Weiss. She walked out of the arena while it rang and bit her lip when there was no answer.

Yang broke into a jog.

_Maybe she went back to the dorm..._

There was no way Weiss could have gotten far. Yang predicted she would probably find the heiress on the way there.

She got a little worried when she did not see her as she arrived at the dorm room.

Using her scroll, the brawler unlocked the door and walked in. Blake and Ruby were sitting on Blake's bed.

Blake shot up at the sight of Yang, "Y-yang! Hello! Uh, what did Goodwitch want to see you for?"

"She told us that me and Weiss are going to be planning a dance in the fall," Yang said brusquely.

"Oh, that's pretty cool. Why you guys?" Ruby spoke up.

"They picked us at random. Has the Ice Queen been by here?" Yang changed the subject.

"No," answered Blake, "Why do you ask?"

Yang opened the door, "I need to talk to her… About the dance! Yeah, I have a few ideas that I need to run by her."

"Why don't you just call her?" Ruby asked.

"I already tried that, she didn't answer. Message me if she comes back here," she shut the door behind her as she walked back into the hall. 

* * *

Weiss looked at herself in the mirror. She was supporting herself over the sink, trying to find a position that would spare her from the pain she felt in her lower chest.

She was in a single-person bathroom that only the library had. She did not want to see Yang right now.

It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. She chanced a touch to her lower torso and winced, slamming a fist on the sink and groaning, painfully, through clenched teeth.

The more pain she felt, the deeper the breaths she needed to take. But the more she breathed, the more pain she felt.

She had to see the damage.

The heiress carefully moved to remove her bolero jacket, wincing and groaning along the way.

With her jacket now on the floor next to her rapier, Weiss reached back around herself to untie the knot that kept her top in place.

After having to take a few breaks between attempts, she finally managed to free the knot. She slowly peeled the front of the top forward.

"Oh my gods…" she said at the sight.

Just to the left near the bottom of her sternum, right where Yang punched her, was a sizable bruise.

Weiss _really_ needed to see the nurse, but she _really_ did not want to risk seeing Yang. She knew the infirmary was where Yang would most likely be at the moment.

She pulled her top back onto her chest and delicately slipped her bolero jacket back on. She needed to change her makeup soon as well, so Weiss just hoped she would not run into Yang on the way to the dorm room.

It was late now. The broken moon was out and Weiss had to walk through the campus in the dark.

She tried to walk fast, but the pain in her chest was hindering her far too much.

Eventually, she got to the dorm room without anyone seeing her. Using her scroll, she entered the room. It was empty.

Mytrenaster immediately hit the ground as Weiss let it slip from her fingers, grabbed her nightgown, and rushed into the bathroom.

Again, she found herself in front of a mirror. She hated how fake her skin looked. She hated how she had to hide that ugly _stain_ on her face.

She tore her bolero jacket off, persisting through the pain in her screaming chest. She writhed as she hastily disrobed from the rest of her attire. Her pain only fueled her ire for her scar, her father, and her burdens.

Weiss looked at her body, clad only in her underwear. The bruise seemed to mock her in her defeat at the hands of Yang.

Turning the sink on, she destructively washed away the makeup on her face, water droplets flying in every direction.

She stared at the mirror again. That angry red line over her left eye stared back.

"I hate you!" she screamed as she slapped her hand on the mirror over her scar.

Weiss stood there, breathing and calming herself. Her hand slid down the mirror and her scar was there again.

She dried off her face and put her nightgown on in seething silence.

She glared at her scar.

_You are a mark of shame… I have to hide you from the world._

The heiress reached for her baggie of makeup and glue. The baggie that was left on her nightstand.

_Oh, no..._

Weiss froze. She had made a colossal error. In her fit of rage, she forgot her makeup in the room.

She put her hands on her head as she began to panic. Maybe she could ask Ruby to give her the baggie.

She went to the door and listened. She could not hear anyone on the other side. She cracked the door slightly open, careful to make sure nobody could see her face.

"Ruby…?" she called out.

The lack of a response confirmed that the room was still empty. Weiss thanked Oum and gathered her clothes to bring to her other belongings.

She set her clothes on top of a neat pile of some other clothes that were ready to go to the laundry.

Weiss reached for her baggie when she heard the door behind her swing open. She had to think fast and planted her face in her pillow, biting back the pain from slamming her tender chest onto the mattress. Her heart began to beat violently and felt like it would burst from her chest.

"Oh, Weiss! There you are!" said the unmistakable voice of Ruby Rose, "We were looking all over for you… Uh, Weiss?"

"Yesh, Rubvy?" Weiss' voice was muffled through the pillow.

"You're sleeping on your belly tonight?" asked Ruby.

Weiss turned her head so only the right side of her face could be seen, "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all! It's just that... This is the first time I've seen you lay on your belly."

Ruby moved to sit down on Blake's bed as Blake, herself, walked into the room.

"Hey, you found Weiss," said Blake, "Well done, Ruby."

Ruby's cheeks had a dash of pink in them, "Haha, thanks, Blake."

"I'll tell Yang she's here," Blake announced and pulled out her scroll.

Weiss felt the urge to gag but resisted it. The only option she had to escape this eminent, undesirable situation was to use one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Blake turned to her, "So, Weiss. Where have _you_ been all afternoon?"

Weiss did not respond.

"Weiss?" asked Ruby.

The two girls walked over to Weiss and saw her quietly sleeping.

"Wow, she must have been really tired," said Ruby.

Yang burst through the door, "Ice Queen?"

"Should we wake her up?" Ruby asked Yang.

"...No, it's okay. It can wait until tomorrow," she climbed up onto her bunk and faced the wall.

After Blake and Ruby changed into their nightwear and went to bed, Weiss started counting. She had faked falling asleep and would wait an hour before getting up to apply her makeup.

As the minutes ticked by, Weiss grew more uncomfortable. The pressure she was putting on her chest was not helping her pain in the slightest.

When she thought an hour had passed, by her estimate, she quietly grabbed her baggie and snuck into the bathroom.

She was getting tired of this damn mirror.

Weiss stood there and waited for her heart to beat at a normal rate. She could not apply anything right now because her hands were still shaking from nearly having a panic attack.

She hated having to worry about this, but having to hide her scar was well worth having the opportunity to spend time away from her father.

The heiress squeezed her eyes shut. She was so close to losing it all.

Her body ached, her mind was scattered, and she just wanted to have a break from all of it. She sat against the back wall and wanted to cry, but she could not. She had already spilled enough tears today.

Weiss got back onto her feet and carefully applied the glue, then makeup after it dried.

She was successful in not waking any of her teammates when she went to her bed, took her pills, and went to sleep. 

* * *

The next morning started without anything out of the ordinary. Despite her pain, Weiss woke up on time, sang another somber tune in the shower, applied her makeup, and was out of the bathroom in record time.

When Weiss walked out, she jumped slightly at the sight of Yang leaning against her desk.

The brawler's arms were crossed and she looked up at the heiress. She was in her clothes from yesterday and had puffy bags under her eyes.

"Hey, Ice Queen. I'm sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to," said Yang, quietly.

The room was still fairly dark, and Blake had not woken up yet.

"What are _you_ doing up so early? Were you hoping to get into the bathroom before me again?" she crossed her arms.

Yang stood up straight, "Can we go for a walk around campus really quick before breakfast?" she ignored Weiss' questions.

Weiss looked at the blonde, skeptically, as her nostrils flared. She plucked her perfume from her desk and generously sprayed Yang.

"Now we can," said Weiss as she walked passed Yang and out of the dorm.

Yang was out a second later and had to jog to catch up to the heiress.

The two walked together with an uncomfortable pressure in the air around them.

Weiss kept her eyes up and ahead while Yang snuck obvious glances at her.

Yang knew she could not stay quiet forever and spoke first, "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," said Weiss, curtly.

Yang expected the single word response and kept going.

"Trying something different with your hair?" asked Yang.

"Unfortunately, my tiara was broken yesterday. I don't have another one, so I'll have to wear my hair down until I get a new one," Weiss refused to look at the blonde.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm sure you are," Weiss spat at the brawler.

Yang could not take it anymore. She had to say something about the goliath in the room.

"Hey, listen. About what happened yesterday…" Yang tried.

Weiss turned to the brawler, curious about what she was going to say. Yang noticed the heiress' upper body movement was slightly awkward and saw Weiss place a hand on her torso.

"Have you gone to the infirmary?" Yang asked.

Weiss scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself. You didn't hurt me that badly."

"Are you kidding? I saw you after I broke your aura, you could barely breathe! Something could be seriously wrong with you," reasoned Yang.

Weiss thought for a moment and took a deep breath, biting back a wince from a sudden jolt of pain.

Yang did not miss the hand that went up to cover her torso. The brawler gave Weiss a look.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Fine, if it will stop your pestering," she began to walk to the infirmary.

Yang jogged to her side again, "I'll go with you," she said.

"That is entirely unnecessary," argued Weiss.

"Yet I'm doing it anyway," said Yang defiantly.

It was clear Yang did not trust Weiss to go by herself, so she would personally make sure she got to the infirmary to get checked out.

Weiss folded her arms under her chest and scowled. She was going to get checked out on her own anyway. She planned to do it during lunch so it would not interfere with her classes and no one would ask questions, but she had no choice now.

While they walked, Weiss became curious about something and decided to be outright with it.

"Yang, you didn't tell anyone about what happened yesterday, did you?" she asked.

"...No," said Yang after a second.

Weiss nodded her head and looked forward. 

* * *

When the girls walked into the infirmary, there was nobody in it except for a lady at the front desk.

They stood in front of her and Weiss spoke, "Hello, I need to see a physician for a checkup."

The woman looked up, "Certainly. Just tell me your name and you can walk into the first door to your left," she pointed down the hall behind her.

"My name is Weiss Schnee," she started towards the room.

"I'll wait out here," said Yang as she moved to sit in a chair in the waiting room.

Weiss said nothing to her and entered the room. It had some medical equipment, a bed, a private bathroom, and a sink. She sat on the bed and waited for someone to walk in.

In no time, a woman in a white coat walked through the door. She had a clipboard in hand and was writing on it before she spoke.

"Good morning, Miss Schnee. I am Doctor Bellflour. What brings you here today?" asked the doctor.

"I was hit fairly hard during a practice spar with a friend, and the pain won't subside," Weiss explained.

"Where were you hit, Miss Schnee?" said Doctor Bellflour.

She pointed to where Yang punched her, "Right about here."

"Okay, Miss Schnee. I'll need you to remove your clothing so I can look for anything out of the ordinary. You can keep your underwear on. I'll wait outside for a moment while you disrobe," the doctor nodded and left the room.

Weiss sighed and began the painful process of removing her clothes. It hurt just as much as yesterday if not more. Her chest felt sore now on top of the pain.

When she got her clothes off, she sat on the bed again in nothing but her bra and panties.

Within seconds, Doctor Bellflour opened the door again. Weiss caught a glimpse of Yang in the distance through the door with a cup in her hand. Yang could see Weiss as well and her eyes widened at the sight.

Weiss blushed as the doctor shut the door behind her.

The doctor inspected the large bruise on her torso. Her face was one of practiced indifference.

"I'm just going to feel the area around the bruise, okay?" the doctor informed more than asked.

Weiss nodded her head and winced as the doctor lightly prodded around the injury.

"Do you feel pain when moving your arms or upper body?" asked Doctor Bellflour.

"Yes," Weiss confirmed.

"What about when you breathe or put pressure on your chest area?"

"Yes."

"I see…" The doctor looked at the bruise a second longer. "I'm going to need to scan your chest so I can see exactly what's happened on the inside. It will only take a second."

Doctor Bellflour opened a drawer in the room and pulled out a paper gown.

"Please put this on while a grab a wheelchair from outside," she said and left the room.

Weiss did as she was instructed and sat in the wheelchair when the doctor returned. When she was wheeled out of the room, she saw Yang where she was before. She had her arms resting on her knees and was looking at the ground.

When they arrived at a different room, the doctor told Weiss to lie down on a special platform while three metal bars moved over and to the sides of her body twice.

After that, Weiss was instructed to sit in the wheelchair again and was wheeled back to the room.

Yang had not moved.

"Okay, Miss Schnee. You may put your clothes back on, and I'll get the results of the scan," said Doctor Bellflour.

After putting her clothes back on, Weiss waited patiently for the good doctor to return.

She arrived earlier than the heiress expected and sat down on a stool in front of Weiss, who was sitting on the bed.

"How bad is it, Doctor?" asked Weiss, timidly.

"Well, the scan shows that your left rib on the seventh pair has a crack just under half a centimeter long. Depending on how strong your aura is, it will take around two weeks for it to be healed completely. Just take it easy for a while. Get plenty of sleep, eat right, and consider adding more calcium to your diet. I think that will do it," answered Doctor Bellflour.

"Thank you, Doctor Bellflour," Weiss shook her hand and left. She walked over to Yang who still had not moved and cleared her throat, "Class is starting soon."

Yang looked up at Weiss, "Here, I got this for you," she handed her a cup of lukewarm coffee.

The heiress checked the coffee to see if it was decaf. To her surprise, it was not.

"Thank you…" said Weiss cautiously.

"What did she say?" Yang asked, talking about the doctor.

Weiss hesitated for a moment before answering, "She said I have a small crack on my left rib on the seventh pair. It's really nothing. I'll be back to normal in two weeks."

"Oh, man…" said Yang as she rubbed a hand over her face.

She buried her face in her hands and started to tear up. Weiss saw this and did not know what to do.

She sat down beside the brawler, "Yang… What's wrong?"

Yang sniffled, "I saw what I did to you… When the doctor opened the door... I'm so sorry. I let the anger get the better of me, and I lost control. Sure, I was mad at you… But you're still my teammate. I'm no better than Cardin! Hell, I'm worse than Cardin! At least _he_ didn't break one of your ribs and leave a giant bruise on your body."

The brawler was now openly crying and Weiss just watched her, completely stunned. Just yesterday, this boisterous blonde was full of confidence and pride. Now she sat there, crying, full of shame for her actions.

Weiss wanted to forgive her so badly, she wanted to say she was not like that oaf, Cardin, at all.

But she also saw an opportunity.

Right now, while Yang was vulnerable, she could gain the moral high ground and keep Yang in her place.

She reluctantly made her decision.

"You're absolutely right," Weiss began and Yang looked at her. "You lost control, and you should be ashamed. There's a huge bruise on my chest that tells me, and anyone else who might see it, that you can't show restraint. I didn't agree with Ozpin's choice of your sister for the leader of Team RWBY, but at least she embodies what it means to be a Huntress. A Huntress cannot afford the luxury of undisciplined behavior. The bruise on my body is a mark of shame. Not for me, but for you, Yang. What do you think any citizen of Vale would think if they saw our spar? You chose this career path, so as a Huntress in training, they would expect you to show some self-control and situational awareness," the words left a foul taste in her mouth.

Yang wiped her eyes and shook her head, "Gods, you're a bitch…" she chuckled through her tears, "But I guess I deserve it now."

Weiss' scroll started to ring and she stood up, "Go to the cafeteria for some breakfast. I'll meet you at our first class."

"Yeah, okay," sniffled Yang as she made her way out of the infirmary.

Weiss bit her lip as she watched Yang go and sighed before answering her scroll, "Hello, Father."

" _Weiss? What happened? I received a message from the academy saying you checked into the infirmary,"_ said Jacques in a worried tone.

Weiss was shocked. Was her father actually worried about her safety? She almost forgot to answer.

"Nothing to worry about, Father. I'll be fine in—"

" _Never mind that! Did anyone see your condition?"_ he interrupted.

Weiss almost screamed. Of _course_ that was what he was worried about.

"No, Father," she said, anger slipping through her tone.

Jacques didn't seem to notice, "Excellent," he hung up.

Weiss breathed in as deep as she could, ignoring the pain in her chest, and calmed herself down a little.

She hated that man.

She hated how she felt powerless against him.

She hated how she flipped his words around and used them on Yang.

Now she could not help but feel like she was no better than her father.

Refusing to think about this any further, Weiss left the infirmary. She had a class to attend, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	6. Symbol of Perseverance

Two months after their fight, tensions between Weiss and Yang were surprisingly low compared to what they once were. It would seem Yang had stopped caring about Weiss' sour attitude and gave up on trying to get her to stop being so contentious.

In response to Yang's more docile behavior, Weiss had become more aloof towards her. They both seemed to be more capable of working together than ever before, which really was not saying much.

Despite the decrease in hostilities, neither girl had brought up the dance since the spar. It had become somewhat of a sensitive topic, and each girl just assumed the other was handling it.

Yang defeated Weiss in the spar. It does not matter that Yang lost control and ended up hurting Weiss. The wager was that whoever won the spar would have complete control over the dance, and Weiss would respect that. A Schnee never backs out of her word, so the heiress believed Yang had every right to design the dance.

Yang, on the other hand, felt horrible for losing control of her anger. The spar was never about the dance to her. For the first time in her life, she _wanted_ to hurt someone, another living, breathing human being, but when she did, she felt sick to her stomach. The brawler believed she owed it to Weiss to let her design the dance.

In her attempt at commiseration for Weiss, Yang stopped with her antics completely. Other than calling her "Ice Queen" all the time, she stopped trying to antagonize her, talking about her behind her back, and complaining about her. That was until the heiress' rib healed.

Yang's respectful demeanor faded away like her bruise did. Although she toned down her petty endeavors, they persisted at a much more manageable level. Instead of doing things that would make Weiss miserably exhausted all day, Yang would lightly inconvenience her from time to time. It was usually something just insignificant enough to not warrant a scolding or indignation from the heiress. Weiss would just ignore the blonde's antics and continue with more important matters.

For example, it was a Friday morning, and Weiss had risen from bed and now stood in front of the mirror about to brush her teeth. But, instead of seeing herself in the mirror, she saw a sheet of paper taped on the mirror. On the page was a vulgar, terribly drawn image of a nude woman with a note underneath. The note—that was equally as vulgar—read, _"Please fuck me, Weiss!"_

This was undoubtedly Yang's handiwork.

Rolling her eyes, Weiss tore the filthy drawing off the mirror and tossed it at the trash.

After brushing her teeth, Weiss washed off her makeup and inspected her face, as was the tradition for the last two months of her life. She enjoyed having time with her makeup off because she had the freedom to scratch her face. There were countless times during the day where Weiss had an itch on her face and could not satisfy it for fear of ruining her makeup, especially where her scar was.

The heiress stretched and yawned before climbing into the shower. Her melancholy melody angelically resonated through the bathroom, once again, as she turned on the water and began to scrub her body.

After a while, Weiss got her head wet and reached for her personal shampoo. Her singing immediately halted when she felt something on top of her shampoo bottle. Something _hairy._

Wiping the water from her eyes, Weiss looked at her hand and lifted it up. A small, orange and black tarantula, just bigger than the cap to the heiress' shampoo bottle, sat where her hand had just been placed.

A second of confusion passed, but Weiss figured out the arachnid was fake and, assuredly, was an attempt by Yang to startle her in the shower.

Weiss scoffed and plucked the fake tarantula off her shampoo and placed it on Ruby's shampoo bottle.

Weiss did not understand the point behind Yang's antics. Most of the time, Weiss never gave a response, so it could not be because Yang enjoys seeing the heiress in turmoil. And even if Weiss _had_ given a response for the last two little disruptions, Yang was not even awake to witness it.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Weiss grabbed her towel and dried herself. She would ask Yang her questions when she was in a good enough mood to entertain her.

She glanced at her scar in the mirror and applied her glue and makeup. After forgetting her glue and almost having her secret revealed, Weiss was unsure if she would be able to keep her secret for much longer. But with each day, Weiss grew more experienced with hiding her scar and knew specific steps to do it

When she was satisfied with her makeup, the heiress put her hair up in her signature side tail. She had bought a replacement tiara in Vale a few days after the fight, but this one was more of a hairpin than a tiara. It was a simple grey band nowhere near as ornate as her previous hairpiece, but it would serve its purpose until she could find a new, more extravagant one.

Weiss walked out of the bathroom just in time to see Blake sit up and stretch. She was right on schedule.

The amber-eyed girl climbed out of bed and padded past the heiress into the unoccupied bathroom to get ready for the day.

Weiss moved to her own bed and retrieved a nail file from her bedside drawer. She got to work on her nails and pretended to not notice Yang peak over the edge of her bunk from above Blake's bed.

"Hey, _Ice Queen_ ," said Yang with a cheeky grin on her face.

Weiss did not spare a glance at her, "You're up early."

"Did you see my present for you?"

"Which one? The inappropriate picture you drew or the tarantula in the shower?"

"Oh, so you found both of 'em," Yang propped her head on her arms.

"How could I _not_ have?" Weiss looked at Yang, "Your lewd sketch was taped right onto the mirror and the tarantula was directly on top of my shampoo."

Ruby, who had awoken, peeped her head over the edge of her bed, "Why are you guys talking so _loud?"_

"Sorry Rubes, I was just asking the Ice Queen if she had seen my pet tarantula," said Yang.

"Yang, since when did you have a pet tarantula?" said Ruby, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Sis," Yang chuckled maniacally.

"Yang, I don't know how to interpret that laugh…" said Ruby, slightly concerned.

Weiss shook her head as Yang continued to mess with her sister. She guessed Yang simply got a kick out of messing around with anyone.

When Blake walked out of the bathroom, Ruby promptly zoomed to her side, "Blake, Yang is being weird. Could you please fix her while I'm in the bathroom?"

"Sure thing, Ruby," she placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder and watched her dash into the bathroom.

Blake smirked and crossed her arms, "Yang…?"

"Yes, Blakey?"

"Why are you being so weird?" asked Blake.

Yang put her hands over her heart, "I don't think I'm being weird. I'm an angel!"

"Really? Would an angel draw this?" Blake pulled out Yang's drawing and displayed it for the room's other occupants to see.

"You can't prove _I_ drew that! I mean, look at the message! It was probably the Ice Queen _fantasizing_ or something," Yang defended.

Weiss stood from her bed, "Yang, the back of that paper is one of our old assignments from Professor Port, and it has your name on it."

Yang pointed an accusatory finger at Weiss, "You forged my handwriting!"

Weiss looked at the blonde like she was stupid and turned to Blake, "Why were you rummaging in the trash bin anyway?"

Blake crumpled up the paper, "What do you mean? It wasn't in the trash bin. It was next to it so I picked it up to put it in the bin, but then I took a closer look at it and… Now we're here."

A loud yelp was heard from the bathroom.

Ruby's voice was muffled through the door, "What the _heck_ guys! Who put a spider in here!"

"You can thank your sister for that, Ruby!" Weiss voiced through the door.

"Don't worry, Rubes! It's fake!" yelled Yang, much louder than was necessary.

When Ruby and Yang finished getting ready, they skipped going to JNPR's room and told them to meet their team at breakfast.

Instead of going off on her own with just a cup of coffee, Weiss picked up a tray and loaded it with an ample amount of food. The heiress took Dr. Bellflour's advice seriously and had been eating a healthy amount of food every day since her injury.

Weiss was the first one at the table and pulled out her scroll to check her make up before she began to eat.

After about a minute, the rest of her team had all been seated as well.

Yang was watching Weiss very closely. It was like she was waiting for the heiress to do something.

Noticing Yang's observing eyes, Weiss turned to look behind her, in case the brawler was just looking at something in the distance. When she turned back, Yang was trying to hide a grin.

Weiss looked down at her tray and saw another fake bug. It was a green grasshopper and it sat right on top of her scrambled eggs.

Weiss looked at Yang dispassionately, _"You_ are going to bring me some new eggs."

"Dang it, I really thought that one would make you freak out," Yang giggled.

"You already pulled the fake bug gag once, and it failed to elicit the response you wanted from me. Of _course_ this wasn't going to work," said Weiss.

"Oh, okay. I see what you're saying. Next time, I should use a _real_ grasshopper!"

Weiss glared at the blonde, "Don't even think about using real insects on me, Xiao Long!"

"Uh, guys?" Ruby spoke up.

Weiss turned to Ruby and saw that she and Blake were standing up.

"Class is starting soon. Are you guys done?" Ruby continued.

"What? That's impossible! I barely got to eat," Weiss looked at Yang, "This is _your_ fault!"

"Hehe. Guilty," said Yang as she waltzed ahead of everyone.

The four girls walked to Professor Port's lecture hall and sat down as the class started.

As was tradition, the portly man began rambling on about his youth, and Weiss fully expected Yang to try something on her to entertain herself.

In the past, Yang had done things like passing inappropriate notes or drawings to her or switching the caps on Weiss' multitude of different colored pens.

To be honest with herself, she felt a pinpoint of excitement to see what Yang would come up with. It was always something different in Port's class. It seemed Yang's creativity thrived with boredom.

Weiss listened to the professor as she waited for Yang's annoyance. She was starting to get bored herself as she began to think Yang was not going to try anything today.

She looked at the clock, not noticing the disappearance and then reappearance of her red pen.

At last, Professor Port said something meaningful and Weiss picked up her pen to write it down.

As she jotted down some notes, she noticed something odd about her pen. She turned the pen slightly and saw a pair of googly eyes looking back at her.

The heiress turned to Yang and found her stifling a chuckle. The blonde simply looked at her and handed her a miniature stapler she took from Weiss' bag when she was not looking. The stapler's googly eyes stared at her.

Weiss looked at the blonde, incredulously. 

_How could anyone find this funny?_

She examined the stapler and shook it slightly. The black circles danced around their white cages and it looked ridiculous.

A small smile formed on the heiress' lips as she puffed out a small bit of air through her nose. 

_Okay… It's mildly entertaining._

She looked back at Yang, who was just smiling at her. The blonde gestured to Weiss' desktop with her eyes.

Weiss shifted her gaze to the space in front of her and chuckled softly. Everything on her desk had googly eyes on them, and Weiss had not seen Yang take any of them. Even her notebook had googly eyes on them.

It was difficult to be angry because of something that looked so ridiculous. One item at a time, Weiss plucked the googly eyes off. She was not about to walk around with googly eyes on all her supplies.

* * *

Yang sat at her usual lunch table with a fresh out of the vending machine bottled water. She held off on getting her lunch so she could mess with Weiss a bit.

She needed something sharp, like a needle or pencil. She waited patiently as Ruby, Blake, and Jaune arrived and sat down at the table.

"Ruby, can I borrow a pencil super quick?" Yang asked excitedly.

"Why do you need a pencil?" Ruby asked in response, "I'm not sure if I should. You've been acting more… _Yangy_ than usual."

"Just give me a pencil, and I'll show you," Yang held out her hand.

Ruby reluctantly took out a pencil from her pocket and held it out for Yang, "I have a really bad feeling about this…"

Yang hastily snatched the pencil with a triumphant chuckle.

Ruby watched intently as Yang used the pencil to poke a small hole in the cap of the water bottle.

Blake, who was uninterested until now, stopped eating for a moment, "Yang, if you're going to do what I think you will with that, I _implore_ you to reconsider."

Ruby was confused, "What? I don't get it, why did you poke a hole in the cap? Now you won't be able to carry that around without getting your stuff wet."

"I will show you," said Yang as she pointed the bottle at Ruby.

Yang squeezed the bottle and a short, thin stream of water shot out of the tiny hole in the cap. Ruby squirmed as the water splashed on her face.

"I knew I would regret this!" Ruby sputtered.

"Hehe. Sorry, Rubes," said Yang as she handed her sister the purple handkerchief she had tied around her left boot.

"So, what are you planning to do with that, Yang?" Jaune spoke up.

"Oh, I'm just going to have a little fun with the Ice Queen, is all," smirked Yang.

"Listen to me Yang," said Blake, grabbing Yang's arm, "This is not a good idea. Provoking Weiss is _never_ a good idea. You're going to ruin her makeup, and she's going to get angry."

"Yeesh, Blake. You say that like I'm about to splash her with acid or something. It's just a little water! I don't think even the Ice Queen is petty enough to have a meltdown over a super small spritz of water," said Yang, "Besides, Weiss could do without makeup for once. Maybe she will like the natural look."

Blake grabbed both of Yang's shoulders, " _Yang,_ stop and think about this. Two months ago, you would know that you shouldn't do this. What has changed since then?"

Yang shrugged her off, "What do you know about me, Blake? We've known each other for two months. How would you know that I know what I should and shouldn't do?"

Blake was at a loss for words. She turned back to her lunch without another word.

Within the next minute, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha arrived at the table with their lunches.

"Have any of you seen the Ice Queen? She should have been here by now," Yang asked the rest of Team JNPR.

"I believe she said she had to take an important call. She should be here any moment now," answered Ren.

Nora plopped down on a seat across from Yang, "Where's your lunch, Yang?"

"I'm going to get some after the Ice Queen gets here," said Yang as she scoured the dining hall for that head of platinum hair.

"Why are you waiting for Weiss?" asked Pyrrha.

Yang was too busy looking around, so Jaune answered, "She's going to squirt Weiss with her water bottle."

Pyrrha turned to Jaune, "What? Why?"

"It'll be funny! Just watch," said Yang.

At last, Yang spotted Weiss walking to the table. The heiress set her bag on her seat and left to get her lunch.

When she was walking back, her phone in one hand and the tray of food in the other, Yang got out of her seat.

"Hey, Ice Queen," Yang stood in front of her, and the water bottle was in her hand.

Weiss looked up from her scroll, "Um… Hi? What do you want from me, Yang."

"Well, I was just feeling thirsty a minute ago," she held up the bottle, " _Waterbout_ you?"

Before Weiss could register the horrible pun that Yang had made, Yang squeezed the bottle with far more force than was necessary.

The water could not escape the minuscule hole in the cap fast enough, causing the cap, in its entirety, to be hurled into Weiss' forehead with a loud "pop."

The water that propelled the cap splashed all over the heiress' face and clothes.

Weiss dropped her tray of soggy food and had tossed her scroll to the side in an attempt to limit water damage to it.

Weiss clenched her eyelids and threw her hands up as she felt the unbridled rage for the blonde surface, "YANG, WHAT THE _FUCK!"_

"Oh, crap! My bad! It was supposed to be a little squirt!" Yang frantically searched for a towel.

Weiss wiped the water from her eyes, "You are _such_ a…"

The heiress' fingers felt slimy. She looked down at her hands. They had something on them.

They had her makeup on them.

Weiss gasped as her eyes widened as big as saucers and her heart uncontrollably palpitated. She slapped her hand over her left eye and broke into a full sprint out of the dining hall, pummeling other students out of the way.

"Ah, _shit_ ," said Yang, as the familiar feeling of guilt nipped at her insides, "What the _hell_ was I thinking!"

Yang sat down at the table, next to Blake, "Blake, I am so sorry for what I said. You were right about everything, and I should have listened to you."

"I'm not the person you should be apologizing to," said Blake, still scantly upset, "You are going to find Weiss and apologize, and then you are going to get your act together. I don't aim to take sides, but you have been antagonizing Weiss ever since you got here. Yes, Weiss can be mean, but she never goes outside of her way to be mean to you unless you've wronged her in some way, which you have. Ruby and I are tired of this feud you two have going on, so you are going to end it today."

Yang nodded her head and stood up, "Yeah, I'll get it done," she said with determination. "Tell Goodwitch I had to do something."

She snatched up Weiss' bag and scroll and left the dining hall. 

* * *

Weiss let out quick, panicked breaths as she sprinted, faster than she ever had before, to the dorm room.

She could feel the glue peeling off her skin. She needed that small tube of glue. She needed her _lifeblood._

Luckily, everyone was either in class or at lunch at this time, so there were no students out to see her at the moment. She just needed to get to the dorm, do her makeup, and report to her next class. It would be the first time in her life that she was late for a class, but her perfect attendance was a necessary sacrifice for her secret.

She skidded to a halt in front of the dorm room. The immediate stop combined with her racing heart made her feel light-headed and she teetered for a second before regaining her bearings and reaching for her scroll.

The absence of her scroll, which was still in the dining hall, pushed Weiss onto the border of a panic attack. She frantically looked both ways down the hall and seriously considered trying to break the door down.

By the time she came to a decision, it was already too late. She heard some students coming from around a corner and ran the other way. 

* * *

Yang briskly walked through the CCT courtyard. She had all of Weiss' things with her, including her scroll.

She knew Weiss would need her scroll to enter the dorm room, but it would not be a bad idea to check, just in case.

Yang started towards the dorm building and began to think. She knew what she did was wrong, but why did Weiss run away so fast. At the end of the day, it was only a bit of water that she spilled on the heiress.

She remembered Weiss' face before she covered her eye and vacated the dining hall. She had an expression of horror. Like she was afraid of something. Maybe she had hydrophobia or something.

The brawler walked into the dorm building with the intention of finding out. She made her way to the dorm and stopped in front of the door.

Weiss was nowhere to be found. She pulled out Weiss' scroll and opened the door. The room was empty and the bathroom door was wide open. It was the same as they left it this morning.

 _I guess she was never here…_

She grabbed the door handle to close the door on her way out.

When she was outside, she noticed her hand was slightly sticky. She looked at her hand and found some cream-colored goop on it.

She turned to look at the door handle. It had the same goop on it.

"Is this her makeup?" Yang whispered to herself.

She took a finger and scraped more of the substance off. It was definitely Weiss' makeup, and it was just barely wet. Weiss could not be far.

Weiss had come to the dorm room but could not get in because she did not have her scroll. So where else could she have gone?

Yang knew one of Weiss' favorite spots to be alone was the library, so _that_ was the brawler's next stop.

She raced out of the dorm building and ran to the library. She was determined to find Weiss now.

She burst through the doors to the academic building and slowed her pace slightly while she made her way to the library.

When she got there, she did not bother searching and walked up to the librarian.

"Excuse me, did you see a girl with white hair and a side ponytail run through here? She's, like, this tall," Yang spoke as she held up her hand.

"You mean Weiss? I haven't seen her today, I'm afraid," said the sweet old lady.

"Okay, thanks anyway," said Yang as she turned to search the library.

It's not that she did not trust the librarian, she just wanted to make sure Weiss was not here before moving on.

She did not find the heiress anywhere and left the academic building.

This whole situation felt familiar. Yang messed up. Weiss got upset and disappeared. Yang feels bad and runs around campus to apologize.

Hopefully, Weiss would forgive her this time.

Yang made a promise to herself that, after today, this would never happen again. 

* * *

Hours later, Yang had no luck in finding Weiss. She checked everywhere, and the heiress was nowhere to be found.

She felt like giving up but pushed on as she swept through the dorms again. She turned a corner and found a roughed up Jaune down the hall with Pyrrha by his side. They waved at her and she jogged over to them.

"Hey, you two. What's up?" asked Yang.

"Nothing much, we just went up to the roof so Pyrrha could help me train in private, but the door at the top of the stairs was locked," said Jaune pointing his thumb behind him.

"Yes, I suppose the dorm building staff don't want students up there anymore. Now we'll have to find a new spot to train," added Pyrrha.

Yang looked at the pair skeptically, "Are you sure you didn't train? Jaune, over here, doesn't exactly look immaculate."

Pyrrha tried to hide a giggle as Jaune sighed, "Yeah, I kind of fell down the stairs after we found out the door was locked."

"Jaune, you should be more careful on the stairs," Pyrrha teased.

"It wasn't my fault! There was a puddle at the top of the stairs! The guy who locked the door probably spilled water up there or something," Jaune crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure if I believe your story, guys," chuckled Yang.

"Fair enough, but it's almost sunset, so Jaune and are going to head over to our dorm. You're more than welcome to join us if you would like to," said Pyrrha.

"Thanks, but I can't. I've still got to find the Ice Queen," said Yang as she waved goodbye.

Yang was suspicious, but not because of Jaune and Pyrrha. She didn't picture Pyrrha as one to make up lies to hide secrets.

She was suspicious because it was a known fact that the dorm manager was okay with students going up to the roof.

She quickly bought a cold bottle of water from a vending machine and made her way to the stairs.

The brawler was mindful of the steps that did indeed have small puddles on them as she climbed higher.

When she reached the top, she stood in a slightly larger puddle leaking from the other side of the door which led outside.

She tried the door handle and it gave, slightly. It was ice cold to the touch. The door was not locked. It seemed like it was just blocked from the other side.

Yang gripped the handle, firmly, in both hands and activated her semblance.

Heat rushed through her and into her hands. As the handle grew hotter, more water rushed onto her boots from under the door.

Finally, the handle turned, and she opened the door. 

* * *

Weiss sat, alone on the roof of the dorm building. Her legs dangled over the edged as she watched the sun fall from the sky over several hours.

Her face was now dry from the water and old tears.

When she realized she left her things in the dining hall, Weiss panicked and did not stop running until she found a place where no one would find her.

She ended up on the roof and froze the door handle with some loose ice dust and a small glyph she created with her hands.

Now, the afternoon had passed and she watched the sun touch the horizon.

She shut her eyes and basked in the warm feeling on her face, but kept her hands tightly wrapped around her torso. She just sat and enjoyed the delicate silence that enveloped her.

The heiress opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening behind her.

After a few seconds, she turned her head to the right so she could see who was disturbing her without letting them see her peeling glue.

There, the blonde stood with a bottle of water in her hand and her bag strapped around her. The ice she had formed over the door handle was now a puddle at her feet.

"Hey," said Yang softly.

Weiss turned back to the sun.

She heard Yang walking up to her and thanked Oum she sat on her right side.

They sat, enjoying the setting sun for a while until Yang spoke, "So, listen. I'm really sorry for splashing water on you. I'm not exactly sure what I was trying to accomplish. I promise you I will do everything I can to stop having to make apologies like this," Weiss remained silent, "But there's something we need to settle, and I want to do it now."

Weiss looked down to the ground below, refusing to speak.

Yang leaned back, "For the whole time we've been here on the same team, there's been this _divide_ between us. Like, you have always been colder and more hostile to me than anyone else. But, I realize now that I have been antagonizing you for the past two months. I want you to know I wasn't doing it to make you angry. I have always been an outgoing and hopeful person who wants to be friends with as many people as I can, but it seemed that you were the only person I still knew nothing about. Every time I mess with you or prank you, it's kind of my way to try and break through your shell. The only problem was that your shell was much thicker than I thought, and I got frustrated. That made me lose control. It made me _hurt_ you. That's not what a friend does. I don't want to be your enemy, but if we are going to fix this void between us, you need to let me in. We could help each other and actually be teammates if I knew more about you," Yang sighed, "I should have said this a long time ago instead of taking the route I did. And for that, I am sorry."

Yang looked at Weiss who still pointed her gaze to the ground, "Could you please just look at me?"

The heiress did not move.

Yang spoke softly, "Weiss…"

Weiss flinched at hearing Yang use her actual name. For the entire time that they had been at Beacon, Yang had never addressed her by her first name. It sounded almost angelic.

"Please look at me," said Yang as she turned her upper body to Weiss.

Weiss' mind was telling her to run, to get away from this kind, warm-hearted person, but her body refused to listen as she slowly turned her head to look at Yang.

Their eyes locked and Yang realized what a beautiful shade of blue the heiress' eyes were. Her mascara had streaked down her face from the water and her makeup was utterly ruined.

Yang's eyes shifted to Weiss' left eye and she saw the heiress shrink away. Her makeup over her left eye had stuff peeling off and flaking. It was definitely not any kind of makeup she had seen before. It looked almost like rubber.

"What's that on your face?" Yang looked Weiss in the eyes again.

Weiss shut her eyelids, tightly, and spoke in a trembling voice, "Yang, I am _begging_ you. You absolutely cannot tell _anyone."_

Yang was confused, "What can't I tell anyone?" Weiss' eyes remained closed, "Here, let me get that goop off your face."

She pulled out her purple handkerchief and the water bottle and made the cloth damp. She held the cloth up to Weiss' face but the heiress turned her head slightly away.

"Weiss," Yang used her name again, "It's okay. You can trust me."

Weiss turned back to Yang and looked like she was about to cry. She didn't, however, and Yang proceeded to wipe Weiss' makeup away. She started with the right side of the heiress' face, cleaning the remains of her foundation and mascara, then did the same with the left side.

Weiss watched the blonde's face as she peeled away more layers of her protection.

Yang wiped away the glue and gasped softly.

"Oh my gods… What happened?" Yang asked.

Weiss closed her eyes as tears threatened to spill. She turned back to the sun, "Dammit, Yang! You made this so _fucking_ hard!"

Yang put a hand on Weiss' shoulder, "Weiss, talk to me."

Weiss traced her scar with her hand, "As soon as I saw you, I knew it was going to be difficult to hide this _blemish_ on my face. All the other's saw my cold attitude and turned the other way, but _you_ saw it, and it only made you try to get closer!"

Yang was dumbstruck, "Why would you want to hide a scar so badly? There are plenty of students her with scars. Just look at Fox."

Weiss looked to the sky, "You wouldn't understand, Yang."

"It would never hurt you to try me."

Weiss breathed out shakily as she let the remains of her shell crumble into dust, "I hide my scar because it is a mark of shame. I'm the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I set my mind to becoming a huntress, so I should be able to fight. A Schnee has to be able to do anything they set their mind to, and they have to do it well. I fought a Grimm for my entrance exam and just barely beat it after it broke my aura and left me a permeant mark as a reminder that I am a failure."

Yang looked at this vulnerable girl before her. The heiress who was usually defiant and bold was now breaking down.

"Weiss, you are _not_ a failure," said Yang, "You defeated that Grimm and made it into Beacon! One of the best huntsman academies in the world. It doesn't matter that the Grimm left a scar on you. You were stronger than it, and now it will never leave a mark on anyone else. You look in the mirror and see a mark of shame on your face, but I look at your scar now and see a... A symbol! A symbol of perseverance and tenacity. I see a mark that tells me you took a hit, and that hit hurt, but you got up and lived through it."

Weiss looked at Yang and viewed her in a new light. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

Yang let out a chuckle, "And between you and me... It makes you look kinda' hot."

Weiss was stunned at the words that Yang had said. She began to laugh. She was laughing and she felt free for the first time in her life. Yang saw her laughing and could not stop herself from laughing as well.

Yang smiled at Weiss, who was coming down from her laughing fit. There she was again: the _real_ Weiss. The Weiss that she had only seen tiny glimpses of over the past two months.

When Weiss stopped laughing, she was relaxed and sighed as she watched the sun disappear over the horizon.

Yang had not stopped smiling at Weiss, "You should laugh more often."

Weiss smiled at Yang, "Really? Why?"

"It suits you. Laughing, I mean."

Weiss hummed with delight as they both turned to look at the red sky fade to black.

Yang got to her feet and held out her hand, "We've been out here for a while. Are you ready to go inside now?"

Weiss took her hand, "Yes, I am."

Yang pulled Weiss to her feet and opened the door for her.

Weiss' scroll rang in her bag which Yang was still wearing, "Oh, I forgot to give this back," she handed the bag to Weiss and watched her pull out her scroll and bite her lip, "Are you going to answer it?"

Weiss paused for a moment, "No… I don't think I will."

Weiss declined the call from her father and walked through the door, followed closely by Yang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	7. Cracking the Shell

Weiss and Yang walked down the stairs from the rooftop of the dorm building. When Weiss was at the top, she felt amazing because she finally began to realize her scar was not something to be ashamed of. But with every step back down the stairs, the weight of what she was doing settled on her.

The heiress' hard kept secret which she had struggled to keep hidden for the last two months was about to be revealed to the world. Her father would undoubtedly hear about it eventually. He probably already knew something happened because, for the first time in her life, she ignored one of his calls.

An uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach, and she had the urge to toss her bag over her head and sprint to the dorm or turn back to the roof where she would wait for everyone to fall asleep.

Her pace down the stairs slowed slightly, and she bit her lip. She glanced behind herself and saw Yang who smiled brightly at her.

She did not know why, but she immediately felt some of her worries flutter away and smiled back before continuing their descent.

When they reached the bottom, the door to the staircase was closed. Weiss reached for the handle, but hesitated and pulled her hand back.

"Hey," said Yang, resting a hand on Weiss' shoulder, "It's okay. You don't have to hide anymore."

Weiss looked at Yang briefly and took a deep breath. She gripped the handle firmly and opened the door.

Weiss' heart was pounding in her chest, but the lack of students in the area marginally calmed her.

Yang secured her place at her side, "How are you feeling?"

Weiss placed a palm against her head, "A little dizzy, actually."

"Do you just want to head to the dorm room, then? Or do you want to grab some food? You must be _starving_ if you've been on the roof all day," offered Yang.

"Yes, I think something to eat would be helpful," Weiss breathed as she started for the dorm building's exit. She moved too fast, however, and faltered for a moment. Thankfully, Yang was there to stop her from falling.

"Woah, easy," said Yang as she supported the smaller girl.

Weiss was feeling light-headed. She concluded it was the result of her nerves and anxiety about this whole situation not to mention her empty stomach.

Weiss swiftly separated herself from the brawler, "I'm fine. I just moved a little too quickly."

Yang hummed in thought for a moment before they headed for the dining hall.

When they stepped outside, they were met with the cool night air on their skin and lamp posts that lit up the entire campus. There were no classes tomorrow, so there were a few students still walking about and interacting with each other before they would call it a night and head to their dorms to sleep.

As the pair walked on, Weiss could feel eyes on her from every direction. It felt strange; being self-conscious. Normally, Weiss would take onlookers by stride, but now seeing them watching her, _judging_ her made her want to hide.

When she saw one student in particular openly gawking at her scar, she instinctively turned her face and covered it with her hand while pretending to adjust her hair.

Seeing this, Yang shook her head, "Don't worry about what _they_ think. The only person that can accurately judge you is you."

Weiss was starting to get annoyed by Yang's incessant, obsequious comments, "You say that like you know what I'm going through. You haven't the slightest clue of how I feel about this!"

Yang glanced at the heiress who was watching the ground as she walked, "Weiss, I get judged all the time."

"Are you kidding? Look at you! Everyone likes you, you are an exemplary fighter, and every guy in the school wants to be with you!"

Yang chuckled, "I'm flattered, Weiss. But, believe it or not, not everyone thinks so highly of me. Many of the people who first see me just see a stereotypical dumb blonde with a big chest. Hell, even _you_ thought of me like that."

Weiss pursed her lips and frowned as she looked over Yang, "Well… I suppose I owe you an apology, Yang."

Yang looked ahead, "Hey, don't worry about it. I know that's not what you think of me anymore. Let's get some food in that itty-bitty belly of yours and head home."

Weiss smirked at the blonde, let out a small chuckle, and shook her head at Yang's words. When they arrived at the dining hall, there were a handful of students still eating. Yang led Weiss to the table they usually sat at for lunch, and they sat down.

"Alright, Weiss. What are you hungry for?" asked Yang.

"I can get it myself," said Weiss as she stood up much too fast. She sat back down, feeling light-headed again.

Yang smiled at her, "Not right now you can't. It's okay, I don't mind getting your food."

Weiss folded her hands in her lap, "I'll have… A salad."

"Weiss, don't be modest," Yang giggled, "How about a cheeseburger or a hot dog?"

Weiss bit her cheek, "I sometimes see those sub sandwiches that look pretty good…"

"Sweet! One sub sandwich coming up!" said Yang as she stood and started towards the cafeteria.

"Yang, wait!" called Weiss, prompting Yang to turn and hear what the heiress had to say. "Could you get two of them for me? Oh! With fries and a grape soda too."

Yang smirked, "You got it, Weiss."

As Yang walked away, Weiss grew aware of the people watching her. Not wanting to pay them any mind, she reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook to draw.

Flipping through the book, Weiss came across the sketch of the dancer she started on the second week of classes. The faceless girl on the page made Weiss think.

What face could match the beauty of this dancer's graceful pose and elegant dress?

After a few seconds, her pencil finally touched the paper and she began to draw a face. She let her mind drift and sketched.

When she finished, she realized she had drawn her sister on the dancing girl.

Weiss sighed heavily and erased her sister's face from the drawing. She loved and dearly missed her sister, but she was so tired of drawing her. She decided this sketch would have a new face.

Before she could resume sketching, she noticed Yang coming back with a tray of food in each hand. Her hunger called to her, so she put her notebook away.

"Okay, two sub sandwiches, fries, and a grape soda for Weiss, and the same thing for me," said Yang as she set the trays down and sat across from Weiss.

"You're hungry too?" Weiss asked while unwrapping her sandwich.

"Yeah, I haven't eaten since breakfast either," said Yang, unwrapping her own sandwich and taking a bite.

"I suppose I owe you an apology for that as well…" Weiss took a bite of her sandwich.

"That's not entirely your fault. Of course _I_ was going to be the one to look for you. I'm the one who made you wet, after all."

Weiss struggled to hide a chuckle, prompting Yang to explain, "Not _that_ kind of wet… You know what I mean!"

Weiss let out a slight giggle while Yang hummed respectfully and continued to eat. The extended silence grew slightly awkward so Weiss took to scanning the hall.

She could count on both hands how many times she made direct eye contact with another student. With every student she caught looking at her, she shrunk more into her seat. Her posture showed no confidence whatsoever.

Yang noticed this and looked around the hall, eyeing every person who dared make eye contact with her.

When they finished eating, Weiss let out a contented sigh.

"Feeling better?" Yang asked.

"Absolutely," said Weiss as the two girls got up, threw away their trash, and left the dining hall.

* * *

Yang pulled out her scroll to open the dorm room but stopped and turned to Weiss, "Are you ready?"

Weiss steeled herself and nodded confidently.

Yang unlocked the door and opened it. Ruby was instantly in front of her asking a flurry of questions.

"We haven't seen you in, like, eight hours! Did you find Weiss?" asked Ruby as Blake stepped up, behind her.

Yang smirked and stepped aside, revealing Weiss.

"Uh, hello guys," Weiss waved timidly.

Ruby gasped and dashed closer to the heiress, "Oh my gosh! What happened, Weiss?" she said as she inspected her scar.

Blake walked past Yang to get a better view of Weiss' scar, "Woah," was all she could say.

Now Yang joined the crowd and noticed the clear look on Weiss' face. She could have sworn she was shaking.

"Hey, give her some space, guys," said the brawler, taking a step back.

Ruby and Blake did the same and Weiss nodded to Yang in thanks.

Weiss moved over to her bed and sat down, "It's kind of a long story, so you should all sit down."

They did as was instructed and waited for Weiss to begin.

"I got this scar a little over two months before this semester began. During my entrance exam, I fought a Geist which took control of one of the giant suits of armor my father keeps in the manor. I didn't go into the fight confidently at all. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to kill it without the huntsmen on standby helping me. The battle was hard, to say the least. Many of my attacks would bounce off the thick metal plating of that armor. I used my speed to counter it's sheer mass and power, but it only took a few hits from it to break my aura. At that point, I thought the exam was over, and a team of trained huntsman would kill the Geist because my aura was depleted, but no one came. I was terrified. I was hurt and bleeding and there was a monster that would kill me a few feet away. I forced myself to fight on, not because I was afraid to lose my spot at Beacon, but because I was afraid to lose my _life._ I was so lucky that I actually ended up slaying it in the end."

Team RWBY sat in silence, taking in everything Weiss had told them.

"So, you're telling me that you killed a Geist all by yourself _and_ without your aura!?" exclaimed Ruby, exuberantly.

"Well, not exactly. I had my aura for the fight, but the Geist depleted it. I killed it after it hit me and left this scar," Weiss explained.

"That's still insane! Entire huntsman teams have been lost to a single Geist before! You killed it alone!" said Ruby, standing up excitedly.

Blake, who was sitting next to Ruby, pulled the joyful girl back down, "Yeah, talk about an entrance exam," she said.

"Where were the huntsmen? Did you find out why they didn't help you?" asked Yang.

"No, I didn't. But I did catch a glimpse of them outside the arena after the fight. I don't think they were ever in the building," said Weiss.

"You said you got the scar a little over two months before we started school… So why did you hide it?" asked Ruby, changing the subject.

Weiss sighed and clasped her hands in her lap, "I grew up with so many expectations. One of them was to be perfect in every way. Early on, my father figured out that was impossible, so my task was to make everyone _think_ I'm perfect. To him, this scar is nothing but a mark of shame. My father has a lot of power as CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, and he can do amny things with that power. The power that he obtained through cheating and lying. My goal is to cleanse my family's company and bring it back to what it once was: an honest company that spread dust throughout Remnant the right way. I plan to do it as a huntress, like my grandfather, but my father made it clear that I was to show no one my _'condition,'_ as he puts it, or he would make sure I never become a huntress. All because he thinks this scar will spoil the Schnee family's reputation of perfection. He locked me in my room for two months so nobody would learn about my injury. He gave me a vial of cosmetic glue to cover up my scar and told me to hide it. He was almost always furious because he had to watch over me while he ran the company. I could always tell what it was that was making him angry based on how angry he was. When it was something small, like an intern messing up his coffee or a board member being late to a meeting, he would just be very curt with me, but if it was something like the White Fang raiding a Schnee warehouse full of dust, he would barge into my room, spit some vile words at me and leave."

Blake shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I can't believe your dad locked you in your room for two months! What did you do to pass all that time?" asked Yang.

Weiss looked at her boots, "I found ways to be productive. Mainly studying and practicing."

"So, your father would get mad at _you_ for heists done by the White Fang?" asked Blake.

"Unfortunately, yes. He hates the White Fang with a burning passion, and fire tends to spread uncontrollably. Every time the White Fang would do something, like assassinate a board member or plunder the dust from a train in transit, he would find my sister or me and shout until he physically got tired. He doesn't want the White Fang to know this, but they have cost the company _millions._ He wants nothing but to wipe the Fang off the face of Remnant, no matter how many innocent faunus get hurt or killed along the way. I never took what he said to me personally when he was angry, though. I understood why he was angry. I hate the White Fang almost as much as he does," said Weiss.

Blake kept her gaze low, "Because of what they do to your family's company?"

Weiss shook her head, "Not really because of that. I hate the White Fang because they don't stop at hurting the company. They hurt people too. When my sister was still living at the manor, the White Fang targeted our house. They waited around the manor until night fell and started shooting and throwing explosives. You can imagine how terrified a young girl would have been waking up to a strange man pointing a gun at her after climbing through the window. As luck would have it, my sister heard the commotion, burst through the door, and saved me. She had already been training to become an agent in the Atlesian military, so she took him out with ease. She told me it wasn't safe and grabbed me by the hand, leading me through the mansion. There were White Fang members everywhere, and I saw far too many bodies bleeding on the floor. I saw familiar faces of servants and maids killed by those damned faunus _terrorists."_

A tear dripped from the heiress' face and she swiftly wiped her eyes.

Blake refused to look at her, "I'm so sorry…"

"It's fine, Blake. That happened years ago," said Weiss.

"Wow…" said Yang, stunned, "So your sister is kind of a badass, huh?"

Weiss did not miss Yang's attempt to lighten the mood, "Yes. Her name is Winter."

"Does _she_ know about your scar?"

"No… I haven't seen her in a few years actually. We used to send letters and sometimes video chat when she was able, but now... Nothing."

"This is a lot to take in, Weiss," said Ruby, "It's weird hearing you talk this much."

"Well, with my biggest secret now out in the open, I might as well tell you my life story," Weiss joked.

Ruby chuckled and looked at the time, "It's getting pretty late, Team. I say we go to bed now."

"I'll agree with you there, Ruby," said Weiss as she grabbed her nightgown and entered the bathroom to change.

Ruby stood up and looked at Blake, who had been staring at the carpet for some time now.

"Blake? We're going to sleep now," she shook the dark-haired girl slightly.

"Huh? Oh," said Blake as she timidly rubbed her arm and stood up. She walked up to Yang, "Hey, I just wanted to say I'm proud of you for patching things up with Weiss. I think things are going to be much more pleasant for the rest of our time here."

Yang smiled at her, "Thanks, Blakey," she put a hand behind her head, "And I wanted to say I was sorry for not listening to you earlier today and snapping at you."

Blake looked like she heard what she wanted to hear, "I appreciate you saying that. I forgive you."

"Heh. Two successful apologies in one day? That's a new record," Yang joked.

Blake rolled her eyes and chuckled as Weiss emerged from the bathroom.

Blake took her place in the bathroom, and Ruby was watching something on her scroll as Weiss walked to her desk and grabbed a small bag.

Yang walked up to her, "Hey Weiss, how are you feeling now that you got all that off your chest?"

"I feel great, actually. I… I want to thank you for helping me with this," said Weiss, adjusting her hair.

Yang smiled at her, "Don't mention it. Is there anything else you want to tell us?"

Weiss opened her mouth to speak but closed it.

After a second of hesitation, she answered, "No… There's nothing else at the moment."

"Okay, you know where we are if you want to talk," said Yang as she walked by the bathroom door.

She turned and watched the heiress pull out a bottle of 'vitamins' and bit her cheek. 

_Baby steps, Yang…_

She thought to herself as the bathroom door opened and Blake walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	8. Baby Steps

Yang walked out of the bathroom with the light shining through the window as a clear sign of a new day. The rest of her team was seated around the bottom bunks while Weiss and Blake chattered quietly.

At the sight of her sister, Ruby shot up to her feet, "Yang! Finally! We need to do something fun today! I was getting so bored!" she shouted, effectively ending Weiss and Blake's rather mundane conversation.

Yang continued to tame her still slightly damp hair, "Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"Anything but listen to Weiss and Blake talk about Atlesian politics!" Ruby whined.

"Hey!" Weiss folded her arms, "It's an extensive and influential topic! Would you rather talk about how you pick your nose in Port's class?"

Ruby's face resembled a tomato, "Y-you saw that?"

"Of course, I did! I sit in the same row as you! I saw you flick one of your boogers into Cardin's hair just the other day!"

"He deserved it! He bullies Velvet all the time, no matter how many times Coco has to beat the snot out of him!"

Blake got up from her seat and positioned herself between Weiss and Ruby, "Can we please stop talking about nasal mucus and figure out the plan for our day off?" she sighed.

"Okay, so what do you guys want to do?" asked Ruby.

Her teammates shrugged.

Ruby clamped a hand over her forehead, "Well, I don't know what to do! I always end up having to choose what we do on our days off."

Yang placed her hand on her sister's shoulder, "I'm hungry, so how about we start with breakfast and go from there?"

"That sounds good to me," said Blake.

"Okay! It's settled! We will settle this at breakfast!" shouted Yang as she ran out of the dorm.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" yelled Ruby as she sprinted after Yang.

Weiss smirked, rolled her eyes at the sisters' antics, and walked out, herself.

After a short walk, the team was in the dining hall and got their breakfast. They sat together as they ate.

Weiss could feel the eyes on her again, but the pit in her stomach ached more today than the previous night.

Last night, the dining hall had maybe half a dozen students in it, but now the hall was full of wandering eyes and gossiping voices.

She put on a façade of confidence and pretended not to notice them.

Yang set her fork down and raised her fist to her face to block a belch.

"Alright, Yang. You were the first to finish, so _you_ get to choose what we do," said Ruby as she set down her fork on her half-eaten strawberry pancakes.

"That's hardly fair…" Weiss said to herself as she played with her scrambled eggs.

Yang tapped her finger on her chin in mock thought, "Hmmm, I want to go to the top of the CCT and drop stuff!"

"Yang! You could kill someone!" said Weiss as Yang just laughed.

"I was just kidding, Weiss," said Yang as she lightly punched the heiress' shoulder.

"Hey, gang," said a voice from behind Ruby.

All heads turned and watched as Jaune and his team sat down with their breakfast.

"We missed you all this morning," said Ren.

"Sorry guys, I completely forgot," said Ruby as she eyed her sister dangerously, who shrugged in response.

"HOLY CRAP!" yelled Nora as she practically jumped on the table with her face directly in front of Weiss', "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

"I-I know, it's hideous…" said Weiss, doing her best to hide from the exuberant girl.

Yang looked at the heiress with confusion on her face. She made direct eye contact with her, but Weiss looked away.

Weiss quickly found that all eyes were on her. She felt like hiding again and was annoyed that Nora would call so much attention to her.

"C-could you keep your voice down! Everyone is looking at it." Weiss managed.

"What are you talking about! That thing is badass!" Nora pointed a finger at her scar.

"Wh—… Really?" Weiss looked up, blushing lightly.

"Yeah! Why don't _you_ have any cool scars, Pyrrha?" said Nora as she moved her face inches away from the famed fighter.

Pyrrha nervously looked at Jaune for some help, "U-um, who's to say I don't?" she sheepishly grinned.

Nora gasped, "Show me! Show me! Show me! I will not rest until I see some battle scars, Nikos! Even if I have to tear your armor off to get to them!"

Nora grabbed Pyrrha's arm and started to drag her away, "Nora, I was only kidding! Ren, please help!" said the bashful amazon.

Ren ran off to help Pyrrha as Jaune turned back to his breakfast, "So, what happened, Weiss?" he asked.

"I would prefer that we changed the subject," said Weiss, bluntly.

Jaune put his hands up, "Okay, then have you guys decided what you're going to do today?"

"We were trying to think of something before you got here. What about you?" asked Ruby.

"We're heading out to Vale for the day. It's been a while since we left campus, so we thought it seemed like a good idea. Want to come?"

"Uh, how about _yes?_ What do you say, Team?" said Ruby, looking at her team expectantly.

Yang finally looked away from Weiss, "I kind of want to chill today."

"What?! Why?! We only get so many days off a week, Yang!" Ruby complained.

"You can still go to Vale with Jaune. Plus, sometimes I just want to enjoy not having to do anything, ya know?" said Yang.

"No, I want to go as a team!" Ruby pouted.

"How about we go to Vale tomorrow?" Yang reasoned.

"Ugh, _fine_. I'm just going to explore the campus, I guess. Wanna come, Blake?" asked the red girl.

"Sure," said Blake as she rose from her seat.

Ruby and Blake were about to leave when Weiss spoke up, "Um, aren't you going to ask _me_ if I want to come?"

Ruby looked at Blake and then at Weiss, "Sorry, Weiss! Do you want to walk around with us?"

Weiss was about to answer but hesitated. She would have said yes, but the thought of flashing her scar around campus was still new to her.

"…No…" sighed Weiss.

Ruby looked confused, "Well, we'll see you guys later," said Ruby as she and Blake left the dining hall.

As soon as Yang couldn't see Ruby and Blake, she turned to Jaune, "Hey, me and Weiss are going to go now. We'll see you later."

Yang led Weiss away from the crowd before Jaune could answer and stopped at the corner of the dining hall.

"So, what's up with you?" said Yang as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You'll have to be more specific," said Weiss as she held her upper arm in her opposite hand.

"I thought you were okay with people seeing your scar now, but I still see you trying to hide your face. Especially when Nora called it out," Yang folded her arms.

"This is still new to me! Don't forget that I have been living in shame for almost half a year!" said Weiss in a hushed voice.

"But we talked about this. I thought you didn't care about people looking at that," she pointed at Weiss' scar.

"I'm only completely comfortable with you seeing it, Yang," said the heiress.

Yang moved back slightly and blushed, "O-only _me?_ "

Weiss looked up at Yang, "—And Blake and Ruby," she hastily added. "Look, can we not talk about this right now?"

"Yeah… Okay," said Yang, regaining her composure, "Do you just want to chill in the dorm with me?"

"Yes, I do…" Weiss said, looking behind herself.

Yang shook her head as she led Weiss past Jaune, who was now helping get Nora under control, and out of the dining hall. 

_Baby steps…_

* * *

When the girls entered their dorm room, Weiss sat at her desk. She had some work to catch up on from missing classes the previous day. She reached into her bag and pulled out some notes that Blake had kindly written for her and got to work.

She barely got through the first page by the time Yang was looking over her shoulder.

"Whatcha doing?" said Yang.

"Catching up on a few things," said the heiress with nonchalance.

"Do that later," said Yang as she walked over to the gaming console.

"I beg your pardon?" said Weiss, turning in her chair.

Yang pulled out her scroll, connected it to the console, and looked at Weiss, "Want to play?"

The heiress chuckled, "I've got more important things to do than play stupid video games, Yang."

"Suit yourself," shrugged Yang.

Yang sat, cross-legged, in front of the screen and began to play a game.

She moved her character, a rather large and hairy man wielding a battle axe, in front of another character who was much smaller and held up a simple katana.

Almost instantly, the small swordsman swung her blade at the large man from every direction. Yang swiftly moved her fingers, using the controls to land a few hits on the swordsman, only for the swordsman to parry and land another long string of slices and stabs on Yang's character.

Yang huffed and pouted as she watched her character's head roll on the floor.

The brawler hit 'retry' and was sent into the same fight.

After landing two more hits than she had the last time, Yang watched her character's head hit the ground, once again.

"Oh, come on!" she growled as she hit 'retry' again.

Weiss was now watching Yang play this game of hers. She was mildly amused by how riled up the brawler got from losing in a stupid video game.

"You've got to be kidding! I totally landed that one!" Yang complained as she stared at the 'retry' button.

Weiss could not contain the small giggle that left her lips.

Yang looked at the heiress, "What are _you_ laughing at?" she pouted.

"I'm laughing at _you,"_ Weiss giggled.

"Don't you have 'more important things to do' or something?" Yang said as she loaded up the fight again.

"I'm taking a break," said Weiss as she sat down on her bed.

Weiss watched the small swordsman move in response to Yang's inputs. It seemed like her blade always hit its mark, and she always blocked Yang's attacks and countered them.

The heiress observed as the swordsman attacked from left and right and above. She could sense a pattern and paid closer attention to the small swordsman.

By the time Yang lost the fight, Weiss had a rough idea of what the pattern was. The swordsman always attacked from the right, left, left, above, left, right, above, then above.

As Yang started the fight, again, Weiss watched as the string of attacks began. The swordsman swung her blade from the right, left, left, and then…

"Block from above!" Weiss shouted at Yang got confused and watched the blade slash her character from above, "How did you miss that? I told you it would come from above!"

Yang desperately tried to land a hit on the swordsman, but the large man could not swing his battle axe fast enough.

"Stop trying to hit her. Block the left!" Weiss emphasized.

"She won't die if I don't hit her, Weiss!" Yang complained as her character was slashed from the left.

After a few more strikes, Yang's character was dead again.

"You can't hit her if you're dead, _Yang,_ " scoffed Weiss as she stood up and sat down beside Yang, "Give me your scroll."

Yang smirked at the heiress and handed over her scroll, "You really think you can beat her? I've been playing this game for months, and I _still_ can't get past her."

"Which will make it even more embarrassing for you when I beat her," Weiss said as she looked at the blonde, smugly. Weiss clicked 'retry' and immediately realized she did not know how to play the game and paused it, "Uh… How do I attack?"

Yang laughed as she pointed to the buttons, "These two buttons are you light and heavy attacks, and you use this to change the direction of where you block or attack."

Weiss un-paused the game and walked over to the swordsman to begin their fight.

Instead of immediately throwing an attack at her as Yang had, she waited for the swordsman to begin her string of attacks.

The heiress remembered the pattern and whispered it to herself as she managed to get through the string without letting a single strike hit her.

The swordsman was now low on stamina and relented on her attacks, leaving an opening for Weiss to strike at her.

She landed two hits on the swordsman before she started blocking her attacks.

Yang's smirk was gone as her jaw fell ajar, "Wow," was all she could muster.

The swordsman started the string again, but this time it was much faster, and the large man was not fast enough to block her strikes.

The man was cut into pieces and now Weiss stared at the screen, defeated, while Yang's smirk returned.

Weiss furrowed her eyebrows, "Wait! That's not fair! This savage can't move fast enough to block her attacks!" she pouted.

"You can swap him out for someone else if you want," said Yang as she took the scroll from Weiss. She navigated to the character selection screen and showed it to Weiss, "See? You can be any one of these guys," she said, handing the scroll back.

Weiss carefully analyzed each fighter before settling on a knight with a longsword.

She started up the fight and went through the first string of attacks, this time landing three hits on the swordsman. When the second string of attacks started, Weiss was able to block each slash and land three more strikes when the string was over.

Now the third string began, and it was even faster than the last two. Weiss was barely able to get through the flurry of sword strikes unscathed but was successful none the less. She landed the final blow on the swordsman and felt a wave of accomplishment flush over her as the swordsman's head hit the floor this time.

"Holy shit. You did it!" said Yang, looking at Weiss.

"It wasn't _that_ difficult," said Weiss, smugly.

"Well, that was just a bot. You want to see how good you really are and fight a _real_ person?" challenged Yang.

Weiss thought for a moment and pulled out her own scroll to connect to the gaming system, "You are _so_ on."

After setting up her scroll, Weiss chose her knight, Yang chose her savage, and they loaded into a fight.

Yang immediately began to throw heavy attacks at Weiss' knight in what seemed to be a random direction each time.

Weiss blocked everything she could and tried to find any kind of pattern. She ended up learning Yang simply swung left, right, and above over again.

By the time she learned this, her character had a sliver of health and she could not do anything to stop a quick, cheap jab from above from killing her knight.

"No! I demand a rematch!" pouted Weiss.

"Oh? So, you _want_ to lose again?" said Yang with a smirk.

"I assure you, I will not lose this time," Weiss stated, defiantly.

Yang clicked the 'rematch' button and they loaded into another fight.

Just as Weiss predicted, Yang instantly started throwing attacks. Weiss blocked them as she simply waited for Yang's stamina to run out.

As soon as she found her opening, Weiss threw several light attacks at the savage, until he laid, dead, on the ground.

"Ha! Take that!" Weiss stuck a finger in her face.

Yang moved the finger, "I was going easy on you that time. Let's do best of three."

Weiss agreed, and they began another fight. This time, Yang waited for Weiss to strike first. As soon as she blocked Weiss' first attack, Yang made her savage swing violently at Weiss' knight.

The knight was only hit by the first strike, and Weiss made him block the rest of the savage's predictable attacks.

Soon enough, Weiss saw her opening and slew the savage once again.

"Yes!" shouted Weiss as she shot up from her cross-legged position on the ground, "I win!"

Seeing Weiss this happy brought a smile to Yang's face, "GG Weiss," she said as she stood up and held her hand out for Weiss to shake.

Weiss griped her hand, firmly, "GG?"

"It means 'good game,'" said Yang, still shaking her hand.

"Oh. Well, GG to you too," said Weiss.

As the two girls released the other's hand, they heard the door unlock and turned to see Blake open the door with Ruby in tow.

"Rubes! Fight me on this game!" Yang insisted.

Ruby looked at the screen to find out what game Yang was talking about, "Oh no, Yang. You are not getting me to play that game with you. You are way too good."

Weiss stepped forward, "Good because _I_ want to fight Ruby," she said as she plucked Yang's scroll from her hand and gave it to Ruby.

"Wait. Weiss? _You_ are playing video games? I thought you hated video games," said Ruby, confused.

"Just shut up and fight me, Ruby," said Weiss as she turned and sat in front of the screen again.

Ruby looked at her sister, "Yang… What have you done?"

Yang just smirked, "Your duel awaits, Baby Sis…"

Ruby sat down next to Weiss and selected her character. It was a smaller knight with two daggers.

Weiss started up the duel and started off by blocking the new, unfamiliar, pattern as best as she could.

Ruby's fighter was much faster than Yang's savage, and it was difficult trying to keep up with the directions in her mind, but eventually, Weiss had the red girl's attack pattern memorized and began to block everything perfectly.

Weiss landed a few hits on Ruby's fighter but ended up dying because of a poison ability that was available to Ruby's character.

"Rematch!" Weiss shouted as she clicked the 'rematch' button.

Ruby smiled at the heiress, "You're really into this game, huh?"

"Ruby, pay attention," Weiss ordered as her knight squared up with Ruby's.

Ruby's knight lunged at Weiss', stabbing him with her poisoned blade.

Weiss did not see it coming and noticed her health was slowly diminishing. She had to kill Ruby's knight, fast. She made her knight block all of Ruby's attacks and waited for her to run out of stamina.

When Ruby realized she had run out of stamina, she tried to make her knight run away, but Weiss did not let that happen and landed two heavy attacks on her, killing her.

"What? I was so far away! How did you get me!" Ruby looked at the smirking heiress, "Two out of three!"

"I accept," said Weiss.

After a slightly closer match, Ruby's knight was slain by Weiss' knight, and Ruby could not believe it.

"Three out of five!" Yelled Ruby as she grew hungry for a win against the heiress.

After another hard-fought battle, Weiss won again.

"What the heck! How are you so good at this game, Weiss?" Ruby pouted.

Yang answered for her, "Ruby, you are so predictable it's not even funny."

Weiss started laughing, "Yang, that is so precious coming from you!"

Yang smirked and shook her head.

Ruby looked at Yang, "What is she talking about?"

"Weiss beat me two out of three before you guys showed up," said Yang in reply.

Ruby gasped, "No way! You're lying!"

"It's true," said Yang putting her hands up as Weiss smiled, triumphantly.

Ruby slapped a hand on her knee, "Come on, four out of seven, Weiss!"

Weiss shook her head, "No Ruby, I want to fight Blake, now."

Blake, who had been quietly reading on her bed, looked up, "What? Why me?"

"It'll be fun," said Weiss, simply.

"I think I'll pass," said Blake, turning her attention back to her book.

Ruby got up and presented her scroll to Blake, "Please, Blake. Avenge me?"

Blake looked at Ruby, amused, and accepted the scroll, "Okay, Ruby."

Blake took a seat next to Weiss and listened to the heiress explain the controls to her. She picked a ninja with two sickles and they began the fight.

Blake was still learning the controls for the first fight and lost without landing a hit on Weiss.

Eventually, Blake got the hang of the game but lost to Weiss anyway.

"Sorry I can't avenge you, Ruby," said Blake, handing the scroll to Ruby.

"Don't worry, Blake! I will avenge _you_!" said Ruby.

"You can fight Yang, Ruby. I'm taking a small break from the arena," said Weiss as she handed her scroll to Yang.

"Alrighty, Sis! Get ready to feel the burn!" boasted Yang.

For a couple more hours, the four girls swapped in and out to play. Weiss won almost every game, and Ruby wanted the sweet taste of victory.

"That's it!" said Ruby after losing another battle to Weiss, "I challenge you to a spar, Weiss! Whoever wins gets bragging rights!"

Yang stood up and pointed at her sister, "Oh yeah? Well, I challenge _you_ to a spar, Sis!"

"Why me? I lost to you every time!" said Ruby, throwing her hands up.

Yang had a goofy expression on her face and shrugged.

Weiss stood up from her spot on the ground and adjusted her skirt, "I accept your challenge."

"I don't want to fight two verses one! I'll get my butt kicked!" Ruby whined.

Blake walked over and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "I challenge Yang to a spar," she said.

Yang laughed, "Hey, let's have a duos match. Me and Weiss verses you and Blake."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," said Blake.

Ruby smirked, "Alright team. To the sparring room!"

* * *

Weiss and Yang stood across the arena from their other two teammates. Ruby and Blake held Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud, respectively, as they waited for the match to start.

Yang smirked as she bashed her knuckles together.

"Ready to lose, nerds?" said the brawler, confidently.

"No!" said Ruby, awkwardly.

The buzzer rang, and the fight began.

Yang propelled herself at Blake who let a shadow take the hit while she jumped away.

That left Weiss to handle Ruby.

Weiss formed a glyph under herself and dashed towards the younger girl, sliding under a large swing from her scythe, while slashing at Ruby's aura.

Ruby switched her scythe into its sniper form and began to take potshots at Weiss to keep her from getting too close.

Weiss simply formed a glyph directly in front of Ruby's weapon, rendering her strategy useless.

The heiress got up close and slashed at Ruby, but the smaller girl blocked each strike. She realized slashing away at Ruby would be pointless, so she backed up slightly and formed a circle of glyphs around Ruby to use to get behind her.

Before Weiss could utilize her glyphs, Weiss was struck from behind and fell to the floor a few feet away.

Yang had launched Blake in her direction, and Weiss had moved in the way and was struck by her.

Weiss wasted no time getting to her feet. Blake also stood up and shot at the heiress with her pistol.

Weiss deflected the bullets with ease while forming a fire glyph in front of her.

Soon, a plume of fire erupted where Blake had been seconds ago.

While Blake was fleeing from the flame, Weiss saw Ruby and Yang fighting in the distance.

Ruby was using her speed to keep Yang in her range, and the blonde was struggling to close the distance.

Weiss had to think fast when she saw Gambol Shroud fling into her field of view and wrap around her.

Blake pulled, and she was swung into the ground.

Weiss used two glyphs to widen the ribbon that was trapping her, so she could slip out, and was just in time to parry a strike from Blake's sword.

Weiss went to parry, but her blade hit another shadow.

In a split second, Blake was behind her and slashed at her back.

The heiress immediately took to the air with a glyph, so she could get her bearings and watched as Blake went straight for Yang.

"Yang! Behind you!" Weiss shouted as she formed a time dilation glyph at Yang's feet.

Yang spun around and blocked Blake's sneak attack, feeling time slow as the glyph did its job.

Blocking the scythe and sword that were attacking her became a whole lot easier and she held her ground long enough for Weiss to land a few strikes on Ruby.

Ruby focused her attention on Weiss and swung her massive weapon at her, the loud swishes and swooshes that could be heard added to the intimidation of the dangerous weapon.

Weiss dodged under and around each swing and, when the time was right, stuck Myrtenaster in the ground and froze Crescent Rose in place.

Ruby tried to pull the scythe out of its icy casing to no avail. She laughed sheepishly as Weiss smirked and walked past her to help Yang with Blake.

She positioned herself so that Yang could see her and formed a circle of glyphs.

Yang saw this and knew exactly what to do. She waited for Blake to appear near her and grabbed her around the shoulders.

"Got you!" said Yang as she flung Blake into Weiss' trap.

Blake landed on her feet in the circle of glyphs and tried to jump out, but her foot was frozen in place.

Weiss formed another time dilation glyph and jumped between the surrounding glyphs, landing a blow each time.

Yang watched Blake's aura dwindle down as she heard a distinctive click from behind. She turned and saw Ruby lining up a shot at Weiss in an attempt to rescue Blake.

Without thinking, Yang jumped in front of the shot which exploded on impact, sending her flying into the glyphs and knocking Blake over.

Weiss looked at the screen and saw that Yang and Blake were in the red. It was just her and Ruby now.

"Get that win for us, Weiss!" shouted Yang as she and Blake walked off the floor.

Blake was quick to speak up after, "I believe in you, Ruby!"

Weiss circled around Ruby. They were both around halfway through their auras, with Ruby being slightly less than Weiss.

Weiss was waiting for Ruby to make the first move, but the younger girl seemed hesitant.

The heiress finally made a move by forming an ice glyph in front of her and firing a volley of icicles at Ruby.

Ruby made her move and used her semblance to dash at Weiss at blinding speeds.

Weiss saw this coming, using a glyph to get above the speedy girl, and watched her skid to a halt on the other side of the arena. She saw her chance and formed an ice glyph under Ruby, freezing her feet in place, facing the wall.

Ruby literally had to bend over backward so she could shoot explosive rounds at Weiss.

The cloaked girl was struggling with this, however, and couldn't move when Weiss reached her and slashed at her hands.

Crescent Rose loudly clanked on the floor as Weiss pointed her blade at Ruby.

"Yield," she said triumphantly

Ruby pouted for a moment, " _Dang it_ …" she said.

Weiss smirked, slashed at the ice holding Ruby in place, and stowed her blade.

Yang and Blake jogged up to their teammates.

"Nice one, Weiss!" cheered Yang as she gave her a high-five.

Yang looked at Ruby who was still pouting, "Hey, you did awesome too, Little Sis. I could barely keep up with you this time. This training at Beacon is definitely not wasted on you."

Ruby blushed as Blake put her hand on Ruby's back while nodding in agreement, "Aw, you always know what to say, Yang," she said as she squeezed her sister in a hug.

Weiss pulled out her scroll and checked the time, "Wow, guys, it's really late. How long did we play that game?"

Yang put her hands on her hips and smirked at the heiress, "It was well over six hours, Weiss. You spent all that time on a 'stupid video game.'"

Weiss crossed her arms, "I only called them stupid because I didn't know they required skill and higher-level thought to be good at them," she said as she and Blake turned and walked towards the exit.

Ruby waited until Weiss was out of earshot before talking to Yang, "You didn't really lose to Weiss, did you? I mean there's no way."

Yang shrugged, "I had to get her to try out the game somehow."

"Oh my Oum! You did the same thing to me!" Ruby realized.

"Yup. And it worked just as well on Weiss."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	9. The City of Vale

"Come on, Team RWBY! Let's get a move on!" cried Ruby as she practically pushed Yang out the door.

"What's with the rush, Rubes? We have all day to spend in the city," said Yang.

"I haven't had a chance to go to Vale in forever, Yang! I want to spend as much of my time there as I can in case I won't have another opportunity to go for a while," said Ruby, shutting the door after Weiss and Blake were dragged out.

"Can we at least have breakfast?" asked Yang.

Blake walked past the two sisters, "Ruby said she wanted to have breakfast at one of the restaurants in the city."

"I think we should just eat here…" said Weiss from behind Ruby and Yang.

Yang examined the heiress quizzically, "Actually, I think breakfast in Vale sounds great!"

"We'll put it to a vote! All in favor of breakfast in Vale?" asked Ruby as she raised her hand.

Without hesitation, Blake's hand shot up followed by Yang's.

"Okay! All in favor o—"

"Ruby, I think a majority has been determined at this point!" Weiss interrupted with folded arms and a scowl on her face.

Ruby chuckled nervously, "R-right."

After a short, awkward silence, Ruby turned and kept pace with Blake, ahead of Weiss and Yang.

"Are you nervous?" Yang asked carefully.

"Of course I'm nervous… If my father doesn't know the secret is out already, he will certainly find out _now,"_ said Weiss in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean? Plenty of people have seen your scar. Why does it matter if people see it in Vale?"

"Because Vale isn't the school. Vale is the _public._ My father's main reason for having me hide my scar was to maintain a public image…" explained Weiss as she nervously held her arm to her side.

Yang nodded in understanding as the team continued to walk.

When they reached the air dock they found dozens of people boarding shuttles to enjoy their time in Vale while others were disembarking shuttles after spending their nights in the city. Since the girls were students of the academy, the fares for transport were already accounted for, and they boarded a shuttle without a hitch. The shuttle took off shortly after and ascended into flight.

Ruby dashed straight for the window, marveling at the sight below, "Wow… I'll never get tired of that view!" she exclaimed.

"It _is_ quite a view," chuckled Blake as she and Yang stood at Ruby's sides.

Weiss took a deep breath and found a seat on the shuttle. She went through all the possible outcomes of the day in her head.

What if someone noticed her and gave her up to her father? She remembered what he said he would do if her secret got out, but perhaps he would not mind it after realizing how little the Schnee family's public image changed after her scar was made public knowledge.

 _I hope this goes the way I want it to..._

* * *

As the shuttle neared the air dock on the edge of Vale, Yang looked upon the city with Blake and Ruby. 

She spotted an entire block of high-end clothing stores, "Hey, I found _one_ place we're heading to before the day is over. Right, Weiss?" she chuckled. The lack of a response from behind her confused her for a moment, "Weiss?" she said and turned around, only to find that Weiss was not there.

"Where did she go?" she murmured to herself, looking around. She peeked around some other passengers and found Weiss sitting by herself, gazing out a window.

Yang glanced out the window behind herself and noticed they were docking. She made her way to Weiss and sat down next to her.

"Are you ready?" asked Yang.

Weiss, who was deep in thought, responded without taking her eyes off the horizon, "I think I am…"

At last, the shuttle landed. The door opened and people began to funnel out. Weiss kept her eyes on the window.

When it was just the two of them left in the shuttle, Yang spoke up, "Well, I _know_ you are," she said, placing a hand between the heiress' shoulder blades.

Weiss tensed up as the unexpected touch sent tingles through her body. She finally broke her gaze away from the window and was met with a warm smile on Yang's face.

The heiress felt her tension melt away. She steeled herself and stood up, offering a hand to Yang, "We would be wise to not keep your sister waiting," she said with a warm smile of her own.

Yang laughed and accepted her hand for assistance with getting up. They departed the shuttle and were met with Ruby bouncing in place, excitedly.

"Finally, you're out! Quick! Where should we go for breakfast?" asked Ruby, hurriedly.

"I always walk by a modest family-owned restaurant whenever I come through here. I've always been curious about that place, and it's not far," offered Weiss.

"Sounds like a plan! Lead the way, Weiss!" cheered Ruby as she motioned for Weiss to step ahead of her.

After leading her team through Vale for about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the restaurant. The outside was painted black, and there was a small, portable chalkboard on the sidewalk out front with the day's specials written on it.

They entered the building and claimed seats in a booth near the back.

The inside had a much more welcoming atmosphere than the outside. There were several raised screens that played various sports and even some fights from old tournaments. The walls were painted a dark brown color that was easy on the eyes, along with tables and cushioned seats that provided a dark red accent to the already dark interior.

Weiss did not get to finish her examination of the room before an older waitress appeared and handed them menus.

"Hello! Welcome to Bumi's! My name is Kya. Can I get you anything to drink before you order?" asked the waitress.

"Milk, please!" said Ruby.

"I'll have some milk as well," said Blake

"Make that three!" said Yang.

All eyes, including Kya's, were now on Weiss.

"A glass of orange juice for me, please," smirked Weiss.

Yang practically jumped from her seat, "I knew it!" she said, pointing at the heiress.

"Alright! Three glasses of milk and one glass of OJ for the lady in white," chuckled Kya as she turned and left.

"Oh! I kind of like that: the lady in white. It sounds like the title of a book or something," said Yang as she sat back down.

"Oh hush, Yang. The last thing Weiss needs is another nickname for you to call her," chuckled Blake.

"These menus are of high quality… And there are dozens of screens in here, but why are we the only ones in here? Surely this place is profitable to be able to accommodate all of this décor," said Weiss, looking at her menu.

"Maybe it's because we're here at a super early time?" asked Ruby.

"Well, this place _is_ a breakfast place, so I don't think that's it," said Blake.

Before the conversation went any further, Kya returned with the drinks.

"Excuse me, but is this place always so empty?" Yang asked, bluntly.

"Yang! Don't be so rude!" said Weiss as she lightly slapped her arm.

"Oh, it's quite alright. Business has been slow all week because of the fair that's in town," answered Kya.

Ruby nearly spat out her milk, "A fair!? We totally _need_ to go, guys!"

Her team agreed and Yang turned to the waitress, "Can you tell us where it is?"

"Yeah, it's downtown: about a twenty-minute walk," said Kya.

"Sweet! Thanks!" said Ruby.

"Certainly! Now, what can I get for you to eat?" asked the waitress, clicking her pen. 

* * *

After breakfast, the team made their way to the fairgrounds as fast as Ruby could force them.

Much to Ruby's disappointment, the fair was not anything special. There were copious money-grabbing games and attractions but there was a dearth of anything truly thrilling. The only thing it had was a mediocre roller coaster that had a drop of barely twenty-five feet and lasted half a minute. Despite the lack of rides, there were hundreds of people having the time of their lives.

"These people must not get out of the city much," Blake said as two children ran by.

"I can't believe this! Where's the _thrill_ and the _wonder?_ All I see is a bunch of greedy old guys trying to scam kids for their parents' money!" cried Ruby, overdramatically falling to her knees.

"Oh, Ruby…" smirked Blake as she knelt next to Ruby, trying to bring her to her feet.

"It's not _that_ bad, guys. Look at all the games and booths. It would probably take all day just exploring all of them," said Yang as Weiss stared blankly at something in the distance.

After a second of hearing no response from any of her teammates, Yang looked over to Weiss and saw her staring at a vendor telling a small child to beat it after she lost his game.

"People like that make me sick," said Yang, crossing her arms.

Weiss still gave no response.

"Uh, Weiss? Remnant to Weiss: please come in," Yang said, poking the heiress' shoulder.

"What is it, Yang?" asked Weiss, snapping out of her stupor.

"What did you see?"

After another pause, Weiss answered, "Nothing. Let's go play some games."

"Yeah! Let's play some games!" cheered Ruby as she dashed to the closest booth.

"I swear, that girl is _so_ fickle-minded. She was literally pouting on her knees a second ago," said Weiss, rolling her eyes as she followed their leader.

"Oh, look at this! I love these things!" said Yang, walking past the first booth towards a vendor for a high striker.

"Are you planning to test your strength, Yang?" teased Weiss as she left Ruby's side.

"Only if you test yours _too,"_ smirked Yang.

"I'll tell you what: if you hit the bell, we will talk. No semblance allowed," challenged Weiss.

"I'm good with that," said Yang, handing a few lien to the vendor, who handed her an oversized mallet in return.

Yang effortlessly hefted the mallet over her shoulder and stood in front of the high striker. She looked straight into Weiss' eyes with a smug expression on her face while she widened her stance.

Without breaking eye contact with Weiss, Yang vehemently brought the mallet down and grinned at the sound of the bell above ring loudly.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Show off…" she chuckled.

The vendor gave Yang a stuffed animal as a reward.

"Sweet! I got a pony!" she boasted, waving her prize in Weiss' face, "Now, let's see what you've got."

"This contraption was designed for children, I don't think I'll have a problem," said Weiss as she exchanged her lien for the mallet.

She dragged the oversized hammer to the high striker and hoisted it up as high as she could using all her strength. After a deep breath, Weiss let the mallet fall onto the button and watched the meter rise to the level that read 'old lady.'

"What? That doesn't make any sense! This thing has got to weigh at least forty pounds…" pouted Weiss as she threw the mallet down.

"Don't worry about it, Weiss. These things are always rigged anyway… _Old lady,"_ Yang teased as Weiss was handed a sticker of an alligator for her efforts.

Weiss stared at Yang, unamused, before peeling the sticker off the paper, sticking it right in the middle of Yang's forehead, and walking to the next game.

Yang laughed, peeled the sticker off, and put it on her jacket instead.

The next game had a board with dozens of balloons on it. The goal was to throw darts and pop as many balloons as possible in ten seconds.

"This is going to be easy," said Yang, getting some darts from the vendor.

Setting the darts on a stool next to her, Yang took aim and waited for the vendor to start the time.

As soon as the vendor said 'go,' Yang started using both hands to fling darts at the board, each one popping a balloon.

When the ten seconds passed, she had successfully popped seventeen balloons.

"Yeah! Beat that, Weiss!" said Yang, accepting another stuffed animal.

Weiss didn't respond, so Yang turned around and saw her staring at that vendor again.

"Do you want to play that game?" Yang asked.

Weiss glanced at Yang for a second before answering, "Yes. I do," she said as she made a b-line for the vendor.

Yang turned to Blake and Ruby who were now at the high striker, "Guys, let's go to this game, over here," she called.

"Just a sec, Yang!" said Ruby, struggling to lift the mallet.

Shaking her head, Yang joined Weiss at the other vendor.

"Hey! What do I have to do to get _that_ ," demanded Weiss to the vendor, pointing at an ornate tiara in a glass case.

Suddenly, Weiss' aloofness made sense to Yang.

"Ah, yes! That fine tiara made of purified Atlesian steel and tempered at over eight hundred degrees. All you have to do is throw this bottle cap onto this pin," the man held up a bottle cap and pointed at a pin about six feet behind him.

"Uh, Weiss... You know this is a scam, right?" asked Yang.

Weiss glared at Yang while handing the vendor a few lien for the bottle cap.

Yang put her hands up in surrender and stood there quietly as Weiss threw the bottle cap.

The throw was short and landed in a small cup.

"Good throw, Little Lady, but not quite what you wanted, right?" said the man, handing Weiss a sticker.

Weiss gave the sticker to Yang and handed the man more lien for another try.

Yang stood behind her, uncomfortably. She could not help the feeling that she was responsible for Weiss' current behavior. 

* * *

Several attempts and nearly a hundred lien later, Weiss was still trying to get that tiara. So much money was wasted, and all she had to show for it was a bunch of stupid stickers.

Yang knew Weiss was furious, despite her calm exterior.

After a frustrated sigh, Weiss looked in the vendor's eyes, "How much do you want for that tiara?" she said, calmly.

"The tiara is not for sale, Little Lady. I told you the rules. If you want that tiara, you've got to win the game," said the vendor.

"I'm offering you money! Isn't that what you want?" asked Weiss, raising her voice.

"Yeah, I love money. Do you know how much lien that thing has gotten me? I got a hundred just from you, alone!" cackled the vendor.

"Weiss, why don't you just buy another tiara from somewhere else?" Yang asked, timidly.

"Because I want a tiara made of Atleasian steel, Yang. And that is extremely rare, especially in Vale. On top of that, it is so incredibly tedious to mold and temper. It took me almost two weeks to get it right for my first tiara," explained Weiss.

"Oh..." was all Yang could mutter as she stared at her boots.

"Hey, lady! Are you going to try again or what? I think this lovely couple behind you wants to take a stab at that tiara," the sleazy vendor said, pointing behind Weiss.

Weiss and Yang turned around to find Blake and Ruby standing rather close to each other. The two girls hastily put some space between themselves.

"W-we're not together," said Blake as Ruby nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, whatever. Do you want to play or not? I've got some money to make, here," said the vendor, waving the girls off.

Weiss shot a dirty glare at the vendor and turned to her team, "I think I've had my fill of this fair. Could we please do something else?"

"Yeah… I think I'm done here, too," said Yang.

"Yang, didn't you say you saw some stores when we were landing?" asked Ruby as Yang nodded to her question, "Let's go window shopping! I don't really have enough money to go actual shopping, so…"

"Rubes, please tell me you didn't blow off all your money here," said Yang, grabbing her sister's shoulders. The cloaked girls just chuckled nervously confirming Yang's suspicion, "Did you at least win a prize or something? I mean, just look at all the stickers Weiss won, and I got a stuffed pony _and_ a dragon."

"I got a sticker too! Look!" said Ruby, showing Yang the sticker of a cat on her hand.

"Actually, Ruby, technically _I_ won that for you," said Blake.

"Blake, no! Betrayal!" Ruby voiced dramatically as Yang laughed.

"If you three are done, could we please leave now?" said Weiss crossing her arms.

"Yeah, this place stinks, it's all just one big scam," said Ruby, trudging towards the exit. 

* * *

After a short walk from the fair, the team rounded a corner leading to a block of small shops. The first one was a modest store full of small, handcrafted knick-knacks.

"Woah guys, look! It's a little horse made out of bamboo!" said Ruby as she put her face on the glass.

"I'm sorry, Rubes, but I'm bored already," said Yang, examining the small horse.

"So am I. Why can't we do some actual shopping?" said Weiss, folding her arms.

"I already told you, I'm out of cash. The rest of my money is in the dorm," Ruby groaned.

"Well _I_ have money," said Weiss as she pulled out her credit card from her bag.

"No need to rub it in, Weiss," Ruby pouted.

"I didn't mean it like _that,_ dunce. I mean we can still do some shopping. I can cover the cost," explained Weiss.

"Weiss, you don't have to do that. I think Rubes is fine with just looking at stuff," said Yang.

"Very well, but I still want to go shopping," said Weiss.

"Okay, how about we split up? I really want to see what kind of weapons and gear they have in this city, so I want to check out a weapons store," proposed Ruby.

"I don't really have anything I want to buy at the moment, so I think I'll go with Ruby," said Blake.

"What about you, Yang? Do you want to go to the weapons store with Ruby and Blake or do you want to come shopping with me?" said Weiss.

"I've seen Rubes ogle at weapons enough on campus. We'll see you two later," chuckled Yang, waving to Blake and Ruby before following Weiss down the sidewalk.

* * *

"So, where to first, _old lady_ ," Yang teased.

"Ugh, can we please not make that a thing? I simply overestimated the power of the mallet," Weiss defended.

Yang laughed until she saw something through the window of a shop across the street. She looked at her old, worn-out boots and back through the glass.

"Hey, can we go to that store across the street really quick? I think it's about time I get some new boots," said Yang, pointing at the store she mentioned.

Weiss looked down the block and saw a jewelry store in the distance. She bit her lip and answered after a moment's hesitation.

"Certainly," said Weiss as she and Yang stopped to cross the street.

After a few seconds and no cars in sight, they walked across the street and stepped into the store.

Yang immediately went to get a closer look at the boots while Weiss walked up to the cashier.

"Aw, these are perfect!" said Yang, excitedly, "Where's the price tag?"

Weiss, who was listening to Yang turned to the cashier, "I'll take those boots, please," she said, handing the boy her credit card.

"Uh, I'm sorry ma'am, but those boots are for display only," said the boy.

Weiss looked at him like he said a foul word, "Just sell me the boots," she said, handing the boy fifty lien.

"Yes, ma'am!" said the boy excitedly as he confirmed the payment, "Would you like the receipt?"

"No thank you," said Weiss with a smile.

"How do I look?" said Yang, looking at herself in a long mirror with the new boots on.

"Oh, good. You're already changed. Let's get out of here," said Weiss as she picked up Yang's old boots and dropped them in a garbage bin.

"Hey, why did you do that? I don't even know how much these cost yet," said Yang, picking her old boots out of the garbage.

"Don't worry about it. I already bought them. I told you I would cover the cost, remember?"

"Wow, Weiss. I don't know what to say…"

"You can pay me back by hurrying up," said Weiss, holding the door open for Yang.

"You've got it!" said Yang as she hopped out the store, followed by Weiss, "So, why are you in such a rush? We've got plenty of time to shop."

"I'm just… Really eager to shop," said Weiss.

Yang hummed in thought but didn't delve any deeper.

After a short walk, they were in front of a jewelry store.

"Let's stop at this store for a second," said Weiss as she opened the door.

The two girls walked in and were met with alabaster walls and dozens of glass cases, filled with beautiful, glistening metals that were shaped into pendants, earing, and more.

"Hello and welcome! Is there anything specific you two lovely girls are looking for?" asked a woman with far too much eyeshadow on from behind the counter.

Weiss went to talk to the woman as Yang walked around, looking at the merchandise.

"Yes, do you have anything made from Atleasian steel?" asked Weiss, keeping her voice down.

"Why are we whispering, hm? Looking for something marvelous for your friend there, perhaps?" whispered the woman.

Weiss turned and looked at Yang, who saw her and waved with a goofy grin on her face.

"What? No. Could you please just answer the question," whined Weiss.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have anything like that in stock," said the woman.

"Drat," said Weiss lightly slamming her fist on the table, "Do you know if there are any other stores around that might have anything I'm looking for?"

"You won't find a store with anything more glamorous than what we have here, Sweetie," said the woman.

Weiss groaned and turned to Yang, "Come on, Yang. Let's go."

"Already? I thought you wanted to buy something?" asked Yang.

"They don't have what I wanted in stock."

"And I am so sorry about that, Sweetie. Atleasian steel is quite rare in Vale," said the woman at the counter.

Yang bit the inside of her cheek, "Oh… _That's_ what you were looking for…"

"Oh, no! I ruined the surprise! I'm so sorry, Sweetie," said the woman.

Weiss rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Let's go, Yang."

The two girls walked out and Yang forced a small smile.

"I'm getting kind of hungry," said Yang, checking her scroll for the time, "It's a little after twelve, do you want to grab a bite to eat before we continue?"

"Now that you mentioned it, I am a little hungry for something… Sweet. And maybe some coffee too."

"We passed by a café a few minutes ago. Let's go there"

"Alright. Lead the way," said Weiss, motioning towards the way they came.

The pair walked side by side, in silence. Yang was unsure what she was going to say to Weiss when they were sitting together without any distractions. Her mind raced with words she would recite to the heiress, but the café appeared in her vision all too early, so she decided to wing it.

Yang opened the door and beckoned Weiss to enter first. Weiss obliged, voicing a quick 'thank you' and stood in line.

The air was awkward but, thankfully, the line was short and they swiftly ordered their food.

Weiss ordered a slice of yellow cake with a cup of black coffee, and Yang ordered a ham and swiss sandwich with a caramel frappuccino.

When their food was ready, Weiss grabbed her credit card from her bag to pay for the both of them, but Yang had already handed the barista enough lien to cover it.

"Oh! Yang, you don't have to—"

"Consider it as thanks for the boots," Yang smiled.

Weiss frowned and nodded as she carried her food to a high table right next to the window. They sat together while Weiss nipped at her cake and Yang nibbled at her sandwich.

Yang was trying to think of something to say. This awkwardness was eating away at her.

"So… How is planning the dance going?" Yang tried to break the ice.

Weiss looked up from her cake, confused, "I don't know… You tell me."

"I thought _you_ were working on the dance," said Yang.

"No… That's _your_ privilege now, remember? We made a wager, and I lost. Fair and square."

"Oh…"

Ever since the fight, Yang just assumed Weiss would take over the preparations for the Autumn Dance. It appeared Weiss thought Yang took over.

Weiss sighed and looked Yang in the eyes, "Yang, we need to talk…"

"A-about what?" Yang panicked.

"About what happened between us. When the school year began."

"Okay…"

There was silence again.

"We really started off on the wrong foot," Weiss began, "And I am so sorry about that. I was just _so_ afraid of my secret getting out that I would push everyone away. I should have let you in sooner…"

"I should have been more patient with you," said Yang, "I didn't know what you were going through, and I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. I mean, I did a lot of horrible shit to you, Weiss. The thing with the showers at the beginning of the year, the thing with the water bottle last week, and the fight? Every time I think about that, I just get so angry at myself," Yang's eyes briefly shifted into a red color, "I'm so sorry about what I did. I'm sorry I broke your rib. I'm sorry I broke your tiara. I'm just… Sorry."

"I forgive you," Weiss said, to Yang's surprise, "And I hated myself when I said what I did to you in the infirmary. That was the most like my father I have ever been and that I ever care to be," Weiss chuckled, sadly, "I literally took his words and altered them to use on you."

"You forgive me that _easily?_ I _hurt_ you! I broke your tiara…"

"Wounds heal, Yang. And the tiara was just a chunk of metal at the end of the day. But… Do you accept my apology? I know I don't deserve it…"

"Of course, I forgive you!"

Weiss looked into Yang's eyes and smiled, "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Yang stood up from her seat and opened her arms. Weiss giggled before getting up, herself, and accepting the hug.

She relaxed into the hug, and it felt like a warm liquid washed all over her body. Yang held her so softly, Weiss felt like she could fall asleep.

After a few more seconds, Weiss reluctantly pulled away and sat again. Her yellow cake tasted so much sweeter now that the awkward tension had dissipated.

Now they sat, comfortably chatting while eating.

"Hey, why do you always carry that bag around, even when we're not on campus," Yang said, pointing at Weiss' bag that was on the floor.

"Oh, I don't use this bag for school supplies exclusively. I have other things in it, as well," answered Weiss.

"Like what?" said Yang as she finished off her sandwich.

"Well, I used to keep some spare glue in it, but now it's just a few sketches in my bag. Besides homework, of course."

"Sketches? I didn't know you draw," said Yang, smiling, "Can I see them?"

"U-um, well, I don't know…" blushed Weiss.

"Please?" begged Yang.

"Okay, I'll show you a few…"

Weiss pulled her two notebooks out of her bag and handed the first one to Yang. The brawler delicately opened the aging notebook and marveled at the sketches.

"Wow… It's like I can see your improvements over time," Yang said, "A lot of these sketches are of the same woman," Yang looked up at Weiss, who was still blushing, "Who is she?"

"That's my sister, Winter," Weiss answered.

"Holy cow… She's beautiful," Yang marveled.

"Yeah… She is," Weiss smiled, remembering the wonderful times she had with Winter in her youth.

"You must really love your sister, huh," Yang said, handing the first notebook back.

"Yes, I miss her. Like I said, I haven't seen her in a few years."

"Do you want to talk about her?" asked Yang.

"Another day, perhaps," sighed Weiss as she slid the second notebook to Yang.

Yang looked through the notebook and stopped at one of the last few pages, "Hey, this one kind of looks like me."

Yang pulled out her aviators and put them on. She lifted the notebook up and positioned it next to her face.

"All I need is a hoodie and that's me," chuckled Yang, as she set down the notebook and put her aviators away.

"Hm… What are the odds," said Weiss, glancing at the sketch of a girl with a pair of aviators and a hoodie she drew while she was stuck in her room.

Yang flipped further through the notebook and stopped at the most recent drawing.

"Woah, this one is way more detailed than the rest… What's her story?" asked Yang, showing Weiss the drawing of the unfinished, faceless dancer.

"Oh, I forgot about that one. I'll have to finish it later," said Weiss, drinking up the last of her coffee.

"Hey, Weiss…" Yang got the heiress' attention.

"Hm?"

"Draw me."

Weiss chuckled while blushing lightly, "You can't be serious."

"I am serious. Please draw me?"

"It will take kind of a while…"

Yang looked out the window and pointed outside at the sky with her thumb, "We've got time."

Weiss smiled, bashfully at Yang, "A-are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Okay…" said Weiss as she plucked a pencil from her bag, "Try not to move too much."

Weiss' pencil touched the paper.

Stroke after stroke, the familiar face of Yang Xiao Long came into being.

Yang simply looked out the window, watching passersby with her arms folded over the table.

The hours seemed to pass, unknowingly by the two girls, at the speed of sound.

"Done," said Weiss, setting her pencil down on the table.

Yang finally looked away from the window, "Let me see it!" she said excitedly.

Weiss nervously handed Yang the notebook, "I hope you like it."

"Man, you really went all out on this one… Look at all that detail!" said Yang, looking at Weiss, "You have a lot of talent, Weiss," she said as she gave the notebook back.

"Thank you," blushed Weiss as she went to tear the page out.

Yang's hand quickly stopped hers as she spoke, "Wait! What are you doing?"

"I was going to give you the drawing," said Weiss, her hands tingling from where Yang was touching her.

"What? No way. Keep it. That's just another sketch for your notebook. It just happens to be of me," said Yang.

"Okay," laughed Weiss as she put the notebook in her bag, "Thank you for granting me the privilege of drawing you, Yang."

"And thank _you_ for drawing me. Oh! Speaking of privileges: next weekend, we should really see about starting our plans for the Autumn Dance," said Yang.

"Yes, we should. And this time, we'll do it together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	10. Know You

Weiss felt amazing.

Despite still needing her morning coffee to function, using those hours that she wasted every morning doing her makeup to sleep was a gift from Oum. She felt her confidence rising once again to levels that could surpass what was previously attainable to her.

She and her team sat at their usual table for breakfast chatting with each other.

"I swear, we saw a dog that looked exactly like Zwei! Blake, back me up!" said Ruby.

After Ruby and Blake went to the weapons workshop in Vale, they decided to visit a pet store to play with some cats. Blake made it clear she would not go near any dogs.

"Ruby, forgive me, but I don't really know what Zwei looks like," Blake shrugged.

"But you do! Because we saw a dog that looks exactly like him!" exclaimed Ruby, pointing at Blake.

Blake shrugged again.

"Okay, Sis," said Yang, "Do you have a picture or something? We could settle this super quickly if you do."

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me," said Ruby as she ripped her scroll from her pocket and pulled up the picture. Ruby turned her scroll around, so Yang could see, "Feast your eyes!"

Yang examined the selfie of Ruby smiling sweetly while holding a black and white corgi in her free arm.

"Oh my gods… Zwei!?" questioned Yang, not believing her eyes.

"I told you! Zwei has a long-lost brother!" Ruby freaked out.

Weiss shifted closer to Yang to get a look at the picture, "Let me see," she said, unamused.

Sure enough, there was a corgi, but Weiss did not know what Zwei looked like either. This dog simply sat there with its tongue out. It looked absolutely adorable.

"Aw, look at da wittle doggie! He's adorable, Ruby!" smiled Weiss, completely changing her demeanor at the sight of the cute dog.

Ruby and Blake looked at Weiss like they had seen a ghost as Yang laughed.

"Ruby, are you sure that dog isn't blessed or something? I've never imagined Weiss, of all people, to be a dog person," said Blake.

"Yang, what did you do to Weiss?" asked Ruby, visibly shaken.

"Yang didn't do anything to me. I've always liked dogs," Weiss defended herself.

Blake hummed in thought and turned back to Ruby, "Ruby, can I see the picture?"

Ruby nodded and handed Blake her scroll.

"Aw, that _is_ quite cute," said Blake as she smiled fondly.

"What!? I thought you didn't like dogs?" cried Ruby.

"Huh?" said Blake, breaking her stare away from the picture, "I do dislike dogs."

Ruby was confused, "Then why did you—"

"Hello, Team RWBY!" interrupted Nora as team JNPR finally arrived at the table, "Woah, Weiss! What's up with your face?"

"Nora, we've been over this," replied Weiss.

"No, I mean you were smiling! You never smile!" said Nora, loudly.

Now several students were looking at Weiss. Her minuscule urge to hide was pushed away, and she felt her confidence shine through. One by one, she shot an icy glare at each student, forcing them to look away. She smirked as the last of the students went back to their lunch.

"And the famous icy glare is back! Welcome back, _Ice Queen_ ," teased Nora.

Weiss shook her head, mildly amused by the use of her old nickname, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you kidding? You were so uncharacteristically shy just last weekend! What happened? Spill the beans, Ice Queen!" interrogated Nora as Ren finally got her to sit down.

Weiss glanced at Yang, who smiled in return, and thought of her answer, "I had fun at a fair in Vale. Oh! _And_ I saw a rather adorable corgi just a second ago."

"What? I want to see a corgi!" said Nora, looking at the team expectantly.

Ruby supplied Nora with her scroll and the picture of the dog, effectively distracting the energetic redhead.

"So, you like dogs," Yang stated as she rested her head on her palm.

"I do," Weiss confirmed.

"You would love Zwei. He looks just like the dog in the picture, as Ruby said, but you need to see him in person to know how awesome he is. Maybe I could get Dad to send him here."

"Oh, please do! I would love to meet him," Weiss said as she smiled at Yang.

"Do you have any dogs? You seem to be pretty fond of them."

"I'm afraid not," said Weiss as she rolled her eyes with a huff, "My father would never allow any animals in the manor. He would always say they should be kept in the wild, where they belong. I used to think he said that because he respected animals, but he just thinks they are filthy and undeserving of compassion. He loathed the thought of having a dog anywhere near us. I don't think I've ever been within ten feet of a dog because of him."

"What?" asked Yang, perplexed, "We're going to have to change that sometime."

"Sometime," Weiss giggled.

* * *

After breakfast, the girls went through their classes as usual.

Weiss found herself checking her face with her scroll much more sparingly than when she had to worry about her glue peeling.

By the time her morning lectures and lunch was over, the heiress felt like everything would be alright.

Unfortunately, the universe had different plans when she and her team arrived at Professor Goodwitch's class.

While they were walking to their seats, the irritable professor stopped them.

"Miss Schnee! Miss Xiao Long!" voiced Goodwitch as she stomped towards them from behind, "The both of you better have a good reason for…" she trailed off as Weiss and Yang turned to face her, "My goodness, Miss Schnee. What happened to you?"

Weiss was confused for a moment, "I beg your pardon?"

"You have a new scar over your eye, my dear," said the now concerned professor.

"Oh, right. It's sort of a long story," said Weiss as she held her arm shyly.

"I see," said Goodwitch as she studied the girls before her, "As I was saying: You two better have a good reason for missing my class last week," she said, her voice returning to its authoritative roots.

"Uh, well, you see… We were—"

"At the dance hall!" Weiss interrupted, "We came up with something that we thought would make the dance more fun for the teachers as well as the students and went to the hall to see where we could implement it."

"Really? And what might that be?" Goodwitch questioned.

Weiss and Yang looked at each other before Yang thought of something, "Uh… Karaoke?"

Goodwich thought on this for a split second before speaking again.

"That does sound rather… Interesting. I'm sure the headmaster would find it enjoyable to watch his students and a few professors do such a thing," said the woman with a brief smile, "But that does not excuse you both from missing class. I made it unequivocal that you were only to plan the dance in your free time. I _should_ strip you of this privilege."

Weiss could not fathom how terrible her day had just gotten. Right when everything seemed to be going her way, something just _had_ to go wrong.

"Wait!" begged Yang, "It was my fault we missed class! I dragged Weiss to the dance hall. She wanted to go to class, but I didn't listen!"

The heiress was shocked by Yang's words. She would sacrifice this privilege so that Weiss could have it? The brawler never ceased to surprise her, but she could not let Yang take the fall alone.

"Yang, no. I made the choice to go with you. If this privilege is taken from you, then it should be taken from me as well," said Weiss smiling fondly at Yang.

"It is admirable to witness how close the two of you have become, and I find it of great character that you are willing to take the fall for the other, but rest assured, the privilege is still yours," said the professor, respectfully.

Yang glanced curiously at Weiss and found that the heiress was just as confused as she was.

"But you just said—"

"And you did not let me finish," interrupted Goodwitch, "I said I _should_ take the privilege away from you two. Instead, I will settle for a lesser punishment because I have faith that you both will make this dance one to remember. Think of it as a warning."

"Thank you Professor Goodwitch! I promise you will not be disappointed!" said Weiss, relieved.

"I'm certain I won't be. See me at the end of the day after all of your lectures are over. I think it is about time we give the arena a good mopping," said the professor, folding her arms.

"You've got it, Ms. G," said Yang pointing two finger guns at the professor as Weiss cringed.

"Right…" said Goodwitch as she adjusted her half-moon glasses, "Now take your seats, children. Class will begin shortly."

The professor promptly walked away leaving the two girls to find their seats next to Ruby and Blake.

"Finger guns? Ms. _G?_ Really?" chortled Weiss as she smiled up at Yang.

"It sounded cool in my head," shrugged Yang as she blushed with embarrassment.

Weiss giggled sweetly at Yang's response. The laughter was contagious, and Yang could not resist joining her for long.

"I was going to ask you guys if you got in trouble or not, but judging by your laughter, I'm assuming you both got off the hook?" asked Blake as the two girls sat down next to her.

"Well, not exactly," Yang said as her laughter subsided.

"We have to mop the arena later today because we missed class last week," explained Weiss.

"Oh yeah. Gosh, that felt like so long ago!" said Ruby from the other side of Blake, "I can't believe just last week you both _hated_ each other and now you're like BFFs!"

"I never _hated_ Yang. I just always overlooked everything great about her," said Weiss.

"Yeah, and we cleared everything up in Vale, so we're on pretty decent terms, I would say," joked Yang.

Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang's antics, "Don't listen to her. This is the best we've ever gotten along."

"We've noticed," chuckled Blake, "Do you need any help with mopping later today? Ruby and I can help you," Blake suggested

"Nah, me and Weiss got it covered," said Yang.

"Weiss and _I_ , Yang," corrected Weiss.

"I knew that," said Yang, waving the heiress off.

"Sure, you did. That's why Weiss had to correct you," Blake chuckled sarcastically.

"Alright, class, listen up! Today's lesson will be crucial for your success as future huntsmen and huntresses," said Professor Goodwitch, starting the class.

As she spoke and called students down to spar, Yang's mind would drift to her new end of the day plans. She should be sad or annoyed that she would have to spend her precious free time cleaning up the arena, but instead, she was looking forward to it.

She was obviously not looking forward to the mopping she would have to do, but she _was_ looking forward to spending some time with a certain heiress. Now that Weiss started opening up to her team, Yang had been itching to learn more about the _real_ Weiss, and not the husk of a girl who used to have hopes and dreams and was bitter to everyone who wanted to get close to her. Talking to Weiss now was like talking to an entirely different person, and she was excited to find out how she acted when she breaks out of her father's grasp entirely.

Alas, getting some alone time with the heiress would have to wait until the end of the day. For now, she would sit there in the arena stands, glancing at Weiss every so often. Each time, she would see her with seemingly nothing to hide, as she watched and studied the spar below.

The brawler briefly remembered Weiss' _'vitamins'_ which she found a while ago. Yang decided she would not bring them up until she better understood Weiss for fear of sending her into a relapse: back to being the Ice Queen.

Yang was so deep in thought, she almost did not realize class was over.

"Students! If you did not spar today, be prepared to spar tomorrow! You are dismissed," Professor Goodwitch had said.

Yang was not roused from her stupor until a delicate finger poked her shoulder.

"Yang? Are you ready to leave? We've still got a few lectures before we have to come back here," Weiss reminded.

"Uh, yeah," said Yang as she stood up from her seat and followed Weiss out of the arena.

For the first time ever, Yang was looking forward to the next time she would be in Goodwitch's room. 

* * *

The rest of Yang's classes seemed to crawl by much too slowly for her. She was eager to get to the arena, but she was taking care to hide it.

Right now, the team was in their dorm dropping off their things so they could go on about the rest of their day.

"Okay, Yang. Are you ready to head down to the arena?" asked Weiss, setting her bag on her bed as Ruby climbed into her own.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Yang said a little too quickly.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help you? We could get it done much faster with all of us," offered Blake.

"Blake, I appreciate you, but we've got it. You can enjoy some free time! This probably won't take long, anyway," said Yang as she opened the door for Weiss.

"Okay, we'll see you guys later," said Blake as she pulled out a book from the shelf and sat down on her bed to read.

Weiss said a quick thank you to Yang as she walked passed her through the door.

When they arrived at the arena, Goodwitch was there waiting for them with two mops in her hands.

"Ah, good," said the professor as she handed them the mops, "I want this floor to be spotless by the time I return. Unfortunately, I have work to do and won't be able to supervise you. I trust that you will get it done."

Without another word, the professor walked out, leaving the girls alone.

Yang thought this day could not get any better.

After a second of silence, Weiss spotted some buckets of water near the door and picked one up, "Well, the floor's not going to mop itself," she said, handing a bucket to Yang.

For the first few minutes of cleaning, the two girls mostly kept to themselves, saying a word or two every so often.

Yang wanted to take the opportunity to get to know Weiss more and ran through all the topics she could bring up in her mind.

She could ask about her father, but that would probably be a very short conversation. Maybe she could bring up her drawings again, but they had done that just yesterday. Would this be a good time to ask about her sister?

Yang briefly stopped mopping and looked over at Weiss who was scrubbing away at a skid mark that did not seem to want to go away.

"You missed a spot," smirked Yang.

Weiss looked up from the skid and put her hands on her hips, "I'd like to see you try and get rid of it."

"Watch and learn," teased Yang as she put her mop over the skid and scrubbed it as fast as she could until it was gone.

"Ta-da! It's gone!" said Yang, smiling down on Weiss.

"Oh no! You're a better janitor than I am!" teased Weiss as she began mopping again.

"It's a hobby of mine," joked Yang, also resuming her mopping, "What about you? Got any hobbies? Besides drawing, of course."

"Well, I can sing and play a multitude of instruments, but none of that was really my choice. My father was always setting up lessons for me."

Yang bit her tongue at hearing the conversation turn away from her intended goal.

"Do you want to talk about him?" Yang had to ask.

"What else is there to say? He always expected too much from me," said Weiss before changing the subject, "I feel like we always talk about my family now, but I suppose I'm to blame for that. What about you, Yang? What's _your_ family like?"

"For most of my life, it's just been my dad, Ruby, and me. I don't know if you already know this, but Ruby and I are actually half-sisters," explained Yang.

"Oh, I didn't know that. But now the fact that you look nothing alike makes perfect sense," said Weiss.

"Yeah, we have the same dad, but different moms. I've never really seen my mom, but Dad says I'm like a perfect mix of the both of them. Ruby, on the other hand, looks just like _her_ mom."

"...What happened to _your_ mom?" Weiss asked.

"Dad says she ran off after I was born. He doesn't know why. My uncle doesn't know why. I guess only _she_ knows why."

Weiss stopped mopping, briefly, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Ah, it's okay. I got over that a long time ago. Besides, Ruby's mom was a much better mother than mine could ever hope to be. She was so great. She was always so kind and loved me like her own daughter. She was everything a great huntress should be. She's also responsible for Ruby's cookie addiction," Yang laughed, sadly, "She died when Ruby was a toddler. Ruby was too young to understand that she would never come home, but it really hit me hard... I still miss her…"

Yang stopped mopping and looked down at the new boots that Weiss bought her the day prior. It was not long before she saw a drop of water splatter on the ground as she teared up.

Yang sniffled and wiped her eyes as a pair of delicate arms wrapped around her from behind and a warm presence clung onto her back.

It took the brawler a second to realize that Weiss was hugging her, and she relaxed as she felt goosebumps all over her body.

Weiss let go after a second or two and walked around Yang, placing a hand on her arm.

"Thanks," Yang said, smiling at Weiss.

This girl is amazing. Yang walked into the arena with a mop in her hand and the intention of getting to know Weiss better, but the heiress had made her realize that she had not let Weiss get to know her back. And now here she was, being comforted by Weiss after revealing her story to her.

"A small hug is the least I can do after what you've done for me," Weiss said as she picked up her mop and continued mopping.

Yang resumed mopping again and thought about everything that had happened between them up until this point. She remembered how she felt about the heiress at the start of the year and how differently she thought of her now.

"I'm so glad we were able to get rid of that conflict between us," Yang said, mostly to herself.

"I'm glad too…" Weiss responded, surprising Yang, "I hate that I misjudged you without even _thinking_ to get to know you."

"Everyone does that, it's fine," Yang said, brushing Weiss off.

"But it's not fine!" shouted Weiss, stomping her foot and turning to Yang, "People should know you're not just some dumb blonde."

"And people should know you're not just some stuck-up, rich girl," Yang smirked.

Weiss scoffed and smiled, "Stop making me feel good about myself while I'm trying to make _you_ feel good about _yourself,"_ she said as she lightly slapped Yang's arm.

"But there's so much to go off of, though," chuckled Yang, "I mean, you're a great artist, super ambitious, and a master swordsman."

"Well, I wouldn't call myself a master," blushed Weiss.

"Don't be humble, Weiss! With the way you handle your rapier, you could fence _anyone_ and win," said Yang as she picked up her mop and held it like a sword.

"Just because I use a rapier doesn't mean I know how to fence," said Weiss, continuing to mop.

"Oh," said Yang, lowering her mop slightly, "But, do you know how to fence?"

Weiss stopped mopping and looked at Yang, "…Yes…"

Yang laughed as she raised the mop up again, "En Garde!"

Weiss smirked at her before dipping her hand in a bucket of clean water and spritzing Yang's face with a few droplets.

"That's an act of war, Weissy," chuckled Yang as she dipped her hand in the same bucket.

Weiss used her mop to keep some distance between them, "Yang Xiao Long, you better not!" she laughed.

Despite the distance, Yang landed a few drops on her, "I got you!"

Weiss went to the bucket and dipped her hand in it again, thirsty for revenge.

Yang had made it to the other side of the arena when Weiss started to walk over to her.

"Ew! Is that a tooth!?" yelled Weiss as she stopped in her tracks while trying to catch Yang.

"A tooth? Ugh, that's gross!" said Yang walking over to Weiss, "Where is it?"

"Right there," said Weiss pointing to the ground between them.

Yang leaned in closer to where Weiss was pointing, "I don't see a tooth—" she said as Weiss wiped her wet hand on Yang's face. Weiss laughed as Yang sputtered and wiped her face, "You are one sneaky heiress, Weiss."

"No, I think you're just gullible," Weiss teased as she backed away from Yang.

Yang found the bucket and got her hand wet again, "You can't escape me, you know."

"I beg to differ," giggled Weiss, stepping around the mops they had dropped.

Yang quickly flung some water at Weiss, causing her to move out of the way. Weiss moved too fast and gasped as she slipped on the wet floor.

"Yang!" she cried as she nearly fell on her face.

Luckily, Yang had moved unbelievably fast and caught her.

Weiss looked up and saw Yang looking down at her, those lilac irises trapping her for a second.

The two blushed, hastily separated, and Weiss cleared her throat. They tried a glance at each other and quickly looked away again.

Weiss looked over the arena and realized they still had a lot to mop up.

"This punishment has been a lot more fun than I expected it to be, but we should really get this over with," said Weiss as she glanced at Yang.

"Yeah, I would hate to not have this done by the time Goodwitch gets back."

"Ditto," said Weiss as she picked up her mop, intent with finishing the job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	11. Available

Weiss glided into her dorm room, glad that her lectures were over for today. Two days had crawled by since she and Yang cleaned up the arena as punishment for missing class.

The heiress wanted the weekend to arrive so she could return to the dance hall with Yang. She was excited but also worried. Last time the two girls were there, things did not exactly go well. She hoped her ideas would not clash too horribly with Yang's, but she did not mind sacrificing her own vision to make her happy if it came to that. The brawler had increased Weiss' quality of life so much, after all.

Weiss was taken away from her thoughts when she felt a finger gently prod at her cheek.

"Hey, Weiss. Lost you there for a second," Yang chuckled and sat on Weiss' desk.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something. What were you saying?"

"I was just complaining about the stuff I've got to do for Oobleck's class. What were you thinking about?" asked Yang, examining a messy sketch of a bracelet on Weiss' desk.

"I was just thinking about this weekend," sighed Weiss as she sat down on her bed.

"Ha! You can't wait for this week to be over either, huh?" smirked Yang.

"This has been the slowest week of my life," Weiss groaned as she laid back and shut her eyes, letting her feet hang off the side of the bed.

"Somehow, I doubt that," said Yang as she stood up and sat down next to the heiress, "Do you want to play that video game again?"

"I'm not in the mood right now. I just want to sleep until the weekend rolls around," said Weiss, keeping her eyes closed.

Yang could not help but think about Weiss' sleeping pills again. Before, she was afraid to bring it up for fear of angering the heiress, but now Yang was afraid of making Weiss feel like she had betrayed her trust.

Weiss would ask how she knew about them being sleeping pills and not vitamins, and Yang could not lie to her. She would have to reveal to the heiress that she went through her private belongings.

Yang was afraid of ruining what she and Weiss had. What she had worked so hard for.

"Yang?" the heiress' angelic voice sounded from her side. She was now sitting upright again, "What's wrong? If you really want to play the game, we can."

"N-no, that's not it," said Yang, looking away from Weiss.

Weiss leaned closer to Yang and placed her hand on her thigh, "Yang, you can tell me."

Yang suddenly realized the proximity of Weiss to herself and blushed lightly. Her heart started to flutter while those captivating crystal blue eyes kept her frozen in place.

Her mind raced for something to say, but she could not think; not with Weiss patiently waiting for her to speak.

She was thankful that Blake opened the door before Yang had to start stuttering for a response.

"Hey guys, I got the mail," said Blake as she sifted through the letters.

Weiss turned to Yang, "Oh, it looks like you and Ruby get _two_ letters this week."

Ruby and Yang's father, Taiyang, sent a letter to them once a week. It would usually contain a few lien to spend wherever they pleased and some written words saying 'behave' and 'I love you,' and the like.

They had already received a letter for this week, so Weiss assumed Yang's father was giving them a bonus.

"Actually, Weiss, there is no letter from Ruby's dad. There is one for _you,_ however," said Blake as she held up the blue envelope.

"Really!?" Weiss nearly screamed as she jumped from her seat.

Weiss sent her sister a letter every month for the past seven years but has not received one back. She was ecstatic to have finally gotten word from her.

She hastily snatched the envelope from Blake, "She finally wrote me back! This is…! Unbelievable…" she trailed off after discovering the distinct Schnee snowflake on the envelope. She did not even have to check the return address to know this letter was not from Winter.

The Atlesian specialist left home when Weiss was nine to join the Atlesian military. Winter said she was going to leave because she wanted to fight for her kingdom, but Weiss knew better. Winter was using the opportunity she was offered by General Ironwood to escape their father.

Winter would never return home, and she would never use the envelope that was exclusive to the Schnee manor to send her a letter.

Weiss wondered if it was Klien who sent the letter, but then she remembered that she had ignored every one of her father's calls for the past six days.

The heiress braced herself for a strongly worded letter from her father telling her how disappointed he was in her for blowing her secret.

"What's wrong, Weiss? Who is _she_ and why is she sending you a letter?" asked Yang.

"I thought it would be a letter from Winter, but I think it's a letter from my father…" said Weiss.

Blake looked uncomfortable, "Winter… Your sister? The one that saved you from the White Fang?"

"That's the one…" said Weiss, staring at the snowflake.

Yang, knowing how hard this might be for Weiss, pulled Blake to a corner of the room, "We should probably give her some privacy," she said softly.

"No, it's okay. I'll feel more comfortable with you here, anyway," said Weiss as she took a deep breath.

Yang and Blake took a seat on Blake's bed and waited for Weiss to open the letter.

Weiss unwrapped the envelope like it was a live explosive and let it flutter to the ground. She opened the letter and glanced through it carefully.

Weiss' nerves dissipated. Now she looked confused.

"What does it say?" Yang, who was literally on the edge of her seat, blurted out.

"It's a message from Whitley…" said Weiss as she quickly scanned through the letter.

"Who's Whitley?" asked Blake.

"My brother," said Weiss, sitting on her bed again.

"Oh, I didn't know you had a brother, too," said Yang with a smile, "How come you never talk about him?"

"He hates me. And he hates Winter as well," said Weiss, her eyebrows scrunched together as she thought.

"Oh… Well, what does he want?" asked Yang.

"Let's find out…" said Weiss as she began to read the letter. 

* * *

_My dearest sister Weiss,_

_I know a letter from me could be unexpected and even unwelcomed, but I have something important to discuss with you. I'm afraid I cannot go into detail in this letter for reasons I will explain later. For now, you should know that things at the manor are not going well for me now that you and Sister have left. Father is getting angrier and goes into tantrums more frequently. You know I think very highly of myself and that I believed I could do anything Father might ask of me, but his expectations of me have become somewhat unattainable. I am under the constant supervision, wherever I go, of this pathetic staff. As I write this letter, there is a manservant standing in the corner of my room, making certain I do not do anything 'undesirable,' as Father puts it. The manservant thinks I am doing school work at the moment; the fool. No one can know I contacted you, so I ask that you not send a letter back to me. Instead, I need you to call home through the CCT at Beacon and ask to speak with Klein. He has helped me so much while you are away, and I harbor a great deal of respect from him now, even if he is disobeying Father's wishes. Please do this for me as soon as you receive this letter, Weiss. I do not know how long I can keep living like this._

_Yours truly, Whitley_

* * *

"Oh my gods…" said Weiss as she turned the letter over in search of more information, only to find none, "I need to get to the CCT."

"Woah, Weiss. Slow down. Why do you need to get to the CCT?" asked Yang.

"Yang, this is the only letter I've received from my brother in my entire life, and he said he needed to speak with me, urgently, and to communicate with him through the CCT," Weiss explained hastily as she opened the door, not bothering to grab her bag.

"Okay, let's go," said Yang as she got up from Blake's bed.

"No, Yang. This is kind of personal. It won't take long. Probably half an hour maximum," said Weiss.

"Right, of course! We'll see you later, then," said Yang, embarrassed and afraid she was being too pushy.

Weiss turned to leave but hesitated and looked into the room again. Blake had just walked into the bathroom.

"Yang," said Weiss.

"Yeah?"

"I really appreciate you wanting to accompany me to the CCT. I know you were just trying to support me while I deal with my brother," Weiss smiled warmly.

Yang could not hold back the smile on her face if she tried, "Your welcome, Weiss. And thanks."

Weiss nodded at Yang and left the dorm room, walking briskly passed Ruby, who was walking in the hall, "Oh, hey, Weiss! Where are you headed?" she said.

"To the CCT. I'll be back in thirty," Weiss called behind her as she continued down the hall.

Not bothering to hear Ruby's response, Weiss made a quick pace for the CCT. Surely, Whitley would not contact her if he did not have something important to discuss.

As Weiss walked to the CCT, her pace lessened the more she thought about this. Weiss knew her father was probably wondering what she has been up to for the past week.

Before Yang discovered her scar, Weiss had never missed a call from her father without making sure to call him back within the hour. Now, Weiss had missed thirteen calls from him.

The heiress knew to expect this to be a sort of trap for her. For all she knew, when she would contact Klein, her father would be waiting on the other side and get a nice view of her naked scar.

But, if Whitley really did need help, Weiss _needed_ to help him.

When Winter left her alone with her father, Weiss felt betrayed. She had left her with the one man she hated more than anything.

Now, Weiss felt like a blatant hypocrite. She had done the same thing Winter did to her to Whitley, and now her younger brother could be experiencing exactly what she went through, or worse.

When fifteen minutes passed, and the heiress was in front of the doors to the CCT, Weiss had to ask herself:

_Can I trust my brother…?_

The youngest Schnee never liked Winter, and he never liked Weiss. But he had never purposefully put either of them under the wrath of their father. Whitley knew, just as well as his sisters, that Jacques Schnee's temper was not something to toy with.

Weiss did not like her situation, but she could not live with herself if she let Whitley suffer like she did when Winter left.

The heiress walked through the doors of the CCT and made her way to the elevator. After a short ride to a communication room, Weiss felt more uneasy about what she was doing.

Weiss walked up to the front desk and had a brief conversation with the artificial intelligence who pointed her to the terminal she would be using to call Klein.

When Weiss sat down, she felt a weight of disquiet settle upon her. She stared at the blank screen in front of her waiting for someone to answer her.

She kind of wished Yang was with her. The brawler would know how to calm her.

The thought of Yang sitting by her side and placing her hand between her shoulder blades like she did on the airship when they went to Vale, seemed to ease her tensions. Weiss pictured the blonde's bright, smiling face with her mind's eye and followed suit with a small smile of her own.

An alert on her screen told her the call was connecting, causing Weiss to return to her uneasiness.

She took a deep breath and waited.

After a few more seconds, the face of Klein Sieben appeared on the screen before her. Weiss sighed with relief and felt genuine happiness at seeing her dear friend.

"Klein! It's so good to see you!" cried Weiss.

" _Ah, Miss Schnee! It has been a dreadfully long while since I've seen you!"_ whispered the mustached man with a warm smile.

It was true, Weiss remembered that the last time Klein saw her, she was getting ready for her entrance exam.

The affable man's smile quickly disappeared as concern flooded over his features, _"Oh, my goodness, Miss Schnee! What in the world happened to your eye?"_

Weiss instinctively turned away for a moment before turning back to Klein, "I actually got this scar from my entrance exam. It's a long story. One for another time, I'm afraid. Why are you whispering?"

Klein nodded in understanding, _"I had a notion that you would not want the entire manor to know you are calling home, so I am trying my best to avoid speaking too loudly."_

"Thank you, Klein, but I didn't call just to speak with you. I need to speak with Whitley, and he said to contact you in his letter," explained Weiss.

Weiss watched the man's face shift to one of conflicted thought, _"I am sorry, but you are too late. I cannot reach Master Whitley. Your father does not allow the staff to serve him, let alone see him."_

Weiss bit her cheek, "That's terrible… That's exactly what Father did to me."

" _So, it would seem,"_ said Klein, softly.

"Do you know anything about what my brother wanted to tell me?" said Weiss as she rested her head on her hand.

" _All I know is that your father has started to train Master Whitley in matters of the company. I am not entirely sure why, but I have my guesses,"_ said Klein, reluctantly.

Weiss thought for a moment before her eyes widened with realization, "Is he… Trying to replace me? Is he going to give the company to Whitley!?"

Klein solemnly checked his surroundings before answering, _"I believe it is a possibility. He could be training Master Whitley for another job, perhaps. I suppose we will have to wait to find out… Unless you call him and ask."_

Weiss was about to ask another question when she saw Klein turn his head to a sound.

"Klein? What was that?" asked Weiss, quietly.

"I must go, Miss Schnee. Good luck," said Klein as the screen went dark to reveal Weiss in the reflection.

Weiss had come to the CCT to get some answers, but all she had was more questions.

Was it Whitley's plan for their father to give him the company, or was their father forcing the company on Whitley now that Weiss had stopped answering his calls? And there was still the matter of whether she was being replaced or not as heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

Weiss snapped out of her thoughts and checked the time. It had been thirty-five minutes since she left the dorm.

The heiress mentally kicked herself for losing track of time and got up to leave. She traveled down the tower, still thinking about what her father might be doing in her absence at the manor.

She was so enraptured in her thoughts that she did not see a large boy at the bottom of the stairs outside the CCT and bumped into him.

Weiss looked up at the boy's face as he turned around, "Oh, wonderful," she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, look who it is, guys. Our favorite Ice Queen," said Cardin Winchester as Team CRDL positioned themselves around Weiss.

Weiss carefully glanced around herself, "I apologize for bumping into you. I'll be on my way, now."

Weiss began to move away from Cardin, but he put himself in front of her again, "What's the rush, Babe? We didn't even get to finish our conversation from the beginning of the year."

Weiss crossed her arms and looked at Cardin, "I thought I made it clear that I wasn't interested."

"Well, you haven't given me the chance to change your mind, yet," smirked Cardin.

"You know, I knew someone just like you back at home, and I have no intention of going through anything like that again," said Weiss trying to push past Cardin.

"Stop trying to leave! You haven't even given me a chance," said Cardin, placing a hand on the mace at his hip.

Weiss looked at Cardin's weapon and glanced at his team, realizing they were all armed, "Why do you all have your weapons? Were you really planning on intimidating me?"

"If it came to it. But also, in case your team shows up again and tries to ruin our conversation," said Cardin.

"You are insane," Weiss scoffed as she tried to leave again, only to be grabbed by Cardin and dragged back to the center of the circle that CRDL had formed around her, "What are you doing!?"

"You're going to listen to me whether you like it or not, Ice Queen," Cardin growled, scanning for people around them, "How about we go somewhere more private."

All at once, Team CRDL began to move with Weiss in a huddle.

"Let go of me, this instant! What is wrong with you all!?" cried Weiss as she was taken to the side of the CCT, away from any bystanders.

The heiress was escorted to an alleyway between the CCT and a lecture hall. Again, Weiss found herself surrounded.

"Cardin, you've better choose your next action carefully," Weiss warned.

"What are you doing to do, Ice Queen? You going to fight me? Last time I checked: it's four versus one, and you don't have a weapon," said Cardin as he inched closer to Weiss.

For every step Cardin took closer to her, Weiss backed away. She suddenly realized just how alone she was.

"I'm warning you…" tried Weiss as she realized she was being backed into a wall.

"Cardin, I don't think we should be doing this," said Dove Bronzewing from behind Cardin.

"Shut up, Dove! You wouldn't know it, but the only way to get through to thickheaded people like the Ice Queen over here is through force!" roared Cardin as he pushed Weiss into the wall, "See, Ice Queen? Don't you like it when someone _else_ takes charge for a change?"

"Get off me!" shrieked Weiss as she shot a kick as fast as she could right between Cardin's legs.

The large boy fell to his knees as he cried in pain.

Infuriated by the boy's actions, Weiss cocked back her fist and let it fly into Cardin's cheek before he could get up, sending him sprawled out against the floor.

"Don't you ever touch me! You _insufferable, intolerable, gargantuan waste_ of human _flesh!"_ Weiss screeched.

At the sight of their leader going down, the rest of Team CRDL haphazardly unsheathed their weapons.

"CARDIN!" howled a voice form the opening of the ally, "What the _fuck_ did I say about messing with my teammates!"

"Ah, shit. Not _her_ again," said Cardin, attempting to stand up.

"Yang! Thank Oum, you're here!" Weiss cried as she ran past Team CRDL to Yang's side, "Let's get out of here."

"Just a second, Weiss," said Yang as she extended Ember Celica and marched towards Cardin.

Weiss saw what Yang was getting at and ran in front of, "Yang, stop. There are four of them and only two of us, and I don't even have a weapon."

"So, sit this one out," said Yang, brusquely.

"You can't fight all four of them! You're going to get _hurt,"_ pleaded Weiss.

Cardin placed a hand on his mace and groaned, "Why did you have to butt in on my business? Just go away! This is between me and the Ice Queen."

Yang's eyes flashed red, "Can't you see she doesn't like you!? Honestly, I don't blame her! Hell, I can't think of _anyone_ who would willingly date a piece of shit like you!"

Cardin growled as he took his mace off his belt.

"Everyone, stop!" Weiss shouted before things got out of hand. She stood in front of Yang, grabbing her arm, "Yang, _please._ Let's just go."

Yang took one glance at the heiress' crystal blue orbs and felt her rage falter.

After a deep breath, Yang's eyes were lilac again, "Okay, Weiss. But, if they fuck with you again, I'm putting them in the dirt."

Weiss nodded and lead Yang to the exit of the ally with a hand on her back. She chanced a glance behind them and saw Cardin swinging his mace right at Yang.

"Yang! Look out!" cried Weiss as she shoved Yang out of the way.

The metal collided with Weiss' shoulder and knocked her to the ground.

"Whoops," chortled Cardin, "That was not meant for you, Ice Queen."

"Weiss!" yelled Yang as she kneeled over the heiress.

Yang was thankful that Weiss' aura absorbed the blow.

"Are you okay!?" asked Yang, concerned.

Weiss groaned and sat up, "Yang… Kick his ass."

Yang smirked, slightly, "You've got it, boss."

Yang stood up and walked in front of Team CRDL. All the joy and happiness that was usually on her face was replaced with unbridled rage for this team that would even dream about messing with Weiss.

"You are going to regret that," said Yang as she smashed her fists together.

Cardin laughed as he rested his mace over his shoulder, "You took the words right out of my mouth, Blondie. Get her boys!"

The other members of Team CRDL glanced cautiously among themselves, not sure if this was a wise action.

Cardin glared at his subordinates, "I _said_ , get her!"

Dove let out a battle cry as he charged at Yang, ahead of his team. Before he could swing his sword, Yang bashed him in the chest with her shoulder and threw him behind her.

Now Russel and Lark, the other two members of Team CRDL, charged at Yang.

Yang waited for Russel to get close and sidestepped his attempt to jab at her with his daggers. She pulled her fist back to counter him but caught a glimpse of Lark's battle axe coming at her.

The brawler twisted her body and narrowly dodged the strike. She saw her opportunity and grabbed Lark's battle axe, tearing it from his grip and hurling it at Cardin.

Cardin did not see the weapon flying at him in time and stumbled backward as the handle slammed into his chest.

Yang took a second to wallop Lark into the ground before turning to see Dove and Russel trying to get behind her.

At the same time, Dove and Russel swung at Yang from the left and right. The brawler brought up her gauntlets, blocking both attacks.

Yang grabbed the two boys, by their chest plates and slammed them into the ground before lobbing Dove at Cardin.

This time, Cardin avoided being hit, "You guys are so useless! Why can't you ever do anything right! Go lick your damn wounds in the corner while I show you how it's done," bellowed Cardin as he squared up with Yang.

Yang stared at Cardin with her angry, red eyes. She was going to enjoy pummeling Cardin.

The brute of a boy raised his heavy mace and swung it at Yang.

The brawler saw the slow object coming and ducked under it, stepping around the brute, landing punch after punch on his lower ribs and back.

Grunting in pain, Cardin lurched his mace back behind him, striking Yang's gauntlet that she raised to block the heavy blow.

Yang put some distance between herself and Cardin and watched him lunge at her. She jumped over the attack and roundhouse kicked Cardin's head, causing him to fall to the ground with a howl.

"Why are you all just standing there! Come fight, like men!" roared Cardin as he stood up again.

Now Team CRDL was charging at Yang, together. They all desperately tried to strike the blonde, but she was focusing entirely on avoiding them.

Yang dodged and blocked every attack that they threw at her but grew impatient as she could not find an opening to counter-attack. She had to do something.

Yang blocked a strike from Dove and threw a right hook into his jaw as she tanked a slash from Russel's dagger.

Dove was sent flying into the wall while Yang continued to use her aura to withstand attacks from the rest of Team CRDL and attack them back.

Lark tried to drop his axe's blade on Yang from above, but Yang grasped the handle and lobbed the boy into Dove.

Now, only Russel and Cardin stood against Yang.

Cardin was furious that his team was being beaten so badly by one person. He was angry at the brawler and angry at his team.

Without warning, Cardin lifted Russel into the air and hurled him at Yang.

Yang was surprised by Cardin's unorthodox attack and was hit by the boy. While Yang was dazed, Cardin swung his mace in an uppercut at Yang, sending her a few feet away.

The brawler's back hit the ground, but she was up again within seconds. She grit her teeth as she shot her gauntlets behind her, propelling herself at Cardin. Her fist crashed into Cardin's chest, sending him flying into the wall.

Yang, fuming with rage, walked up to Cardin as he was getting back up and grabbed his chest plate to pull him back to the ground.

"Don't! Touch! My! Friend!" Yang roared, punctuating each word with a punch to Cardin's chin.

Yang stood in the alleyway, looking down on the four boys, groaning and moaning in pain on the ground, as Weiss ran to her side.

"Yang! Are you okay?" asked the heiress, clinging to her arm.

Yang took a deep breath and calmed down before answering, "I'm great. That felt _really_ nice."

Just then, Ruby and Blake turned the corner with their weapons drawn.

"Weiss! We got your message," shouted Ruby, "But, I guess you don't need our help anymore."

Yang looked at Weiss with her eyebrow raised, "You didn't think I could take them?"

"Better safe than sorry," Weiss shrugged as the team left the ally.

Yang nodded in understanding while Blake dragged Ruby passed them, "If you guys are okay, Ruby and I have to get back to the library to finish out study session. Ruby jumped at the opportunity to get out of it when Weiss called."

"Yeah, we're good. Enjoy your studies, Rubes!" said Yang, waving goodbye to her sister and Blake.

Yang and Weiss began walking back to their dorm room when Weiss spoke up, "You called me your friend," she smiled at Yang.

"That's because you _are_ my friend," Yang chuckled.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" asked Weiss.

"Well, you said you would be back in thirty minutes and when it had been forty-five, I came looking for you. You know, because you're usually so punctual, I figured something was up. Then, I heard you shout, and I came running," explained Yang.

"I'm thankful you came when you did," said Weiss with a small laugh.

"I saw you nail Cardin in the nards earlier. I would have died laughing if I wasn't so mad," Yang laughed.

"Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience dealing with people like him," joked Weiss.

Yang saw her opportunity to learn something that she was dying to know lately and could not pass it up.

"Really? So, you're pretty good at rejecting pushy guys? Or girls? I don't judge," said Yang, putting her hands up.

"Not exactly. I dated a 'pushy guy' for two years before I came to Beacon. That pig ended up cheating on me in the end… And it really hurt," said Weiss, crossing her arms.

"That's horrible… I can't imagine why anyone would want to cheat on you. Especially after two years! You must have known each other really well," said Yang.

"Now that I think about it, I really _didn't_ know him that well. I never thought he would cheat on me. I thought I loved him. I regret every second I wasted with him. He took so many things that I can't get back, like lost time and my —" Weiss stopped herself.

"He took… your…" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"M-my virginity…" Weiss blushed a bright shade of red, "I-I wish I saved it for someone special..."

"O-oh," said Yang, blushing as well. "Was he your first relationship?" she asked, trying to ease the embarrassment.

"No, he was one of the many suitors my father threw at me. He was the only one I liked back. I did, however, have a relationship with someone by my own doing while I attended a prep school in Atlas," Weiss smiled fondly, "She was actually my first kiss."

Yang could hardly breathe after hearing what Weiss had said. She wondered if she heard it right because it seemed too good to be true.

"Tell me about her," said Yang.

Weiss took a deep breath, "Well, she had tan skin and reddish hair. She had some very interesting freckles that looked sort of strange. We dated in secret because we both knew my father wouldn't be happy with his daughter dating another girl, let alone being bisexual."

"What happened between you two?"

"A few days after our one year anniversary, there was a collapse in the dust mines. I didn't know it, but her parents worked there and were killed. When she found out, she turned blue in front of everyone. Literally. She was actually a faunus, and she never told me. She was hiding her faunus heritage so she could attend the school. After that, she ran. And I never saw her again."

"I'm sorry," Yang said, looking at the ground.

Weiss smiled at Yang, "You don't have to apologize. That was a long time ago, and I'm over it now."

The comfortable air between them lasted for the rest of the walk to the dorm room, and Yang could not stop smiling. She could not believe how quickly she grew to like the heiress when her icy exterior was absent.

Every moment Yang got to spend with Weiss since she saw her scar was like a dream. Her heart would flutter in her chest when the heiress got close and she would feel weak in her knees when she touched her.

The brawler found herself thinking about the heiress more often than she would a normal friend.

Yang knew she had feelings for Weiss, and when she went to bed that night, she only had one thought on her mind.

Weiss Schnee was available.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	12. The Dance Hall

At last, the weekend was here again.

Today, Weiss could take a break from her thoughts about what happened a few days ago with Whitley being stuck in the same situation she was and the possible loss of her title as heiress of the Schnee Dust Company.

The thought had been nipping at her for the last few days, and she lost a few more hours of sleep than she would like to admit.

She knew what Yang would say if she had told her about her strife: _'Talk to me about it. I promise it will make you feel better.'_

Weiss _knew_ Yang was right, but she did not want to worry her for today. She had already done that enough when Yang found Cardin trying to pull something on her.

Weiss did not want to think about what Cardin would have done to her if Yang had not followed her, and she could rest easy knowing team CRDL would not be a problem anytime soon.

The day after their encounter, Weiss went to Headmaster Ozpin, himself, and told him what the boys did, and they were promptly questioned and expelled.

It was about time if you asked the heiress. They bullied humans and faunus alike for the entire time they were there.

It brought a smile to her face when she saw Yang utterly dominating them in a four on one fight.

Weiss did not see herself as a damsel in distress, but watching Yang fight for her made the brawler look like her knight in shining armor. The sheer force behind her fists as they collided with the boys' bodies and her serpent-like movements as she weaved through their attacks allowed Weiss to see her in a new light.

Yang was loyal and would always try her best to defend the people she cared about, whether they be her sister, herself, or her friends.

Weiss was not used to having such a loyal person being her friend. Usually, people wanted her money or status when they tried to get to know her. It was a pleasant change of pace, to say the least.

With loyalty from Yang came trust from the heiress. She told her that she was bisexual, which is something she has not told anyone else. Not even Klien.

She did not know the exact reason why she gave Yang that information about herself, but it seemed like something she would have liked to know.

Perhaps Weiss was expecting a tad of confirmation about Yang's preferences in terms of a romantic partner which she did not receive, much to her chagrin. She had a strong feeling that Yang was attracted to girls as well, but she could not know for sure until Yang tells her.

Yang has just been so _kind_ to her now that their quarrel was over, and now Weiss did not know exactly what her feelings towards Yang were.

The blonde could make her laugh and enjoy life for a change. If it were not for Yang, Weiss would still be a cold-hearted, prissy girl.

And Weiss had faith that Yang's toned stomach, bright blonde hair, and muscled hourglass figure would fail to become an eyesore any time soon, but that is a topic for another time.

Knowing that people like Yang existed gave Weiss some relief that Remnant was not filled completely with people like Cardin, Whitley, or her father.

Weiss shoved the thoughts of her father and status as heiress out of her mind. Today was not the day to worry about such things.

Today, Weiss would enjoy a wonderful day off with Yang. They had both been looking forward to spending a day planning the dance all week, and Weiss intended to enjoy every second of it.

It was a perfect day with only a modicum of clouds in the sky and a breeze so light that it might as well have not been there in the first place.

Weiss and Yang traveled leisurely down the path to the dance hall with the sun pleasantly beaming down on them through the leaves of a few scattered trees.

The familiar path had an entirely different feeling than it did when the two girls first traversed it.

"Man, can you believe how we were when we first came down this path," laughed Yang, "We totally hated each other!"

"I wouldn't say I _hated_ you… I just _really_ didn't like spending time with you, and that was mainly because I didn't know you," said Weiss as she raised a finger while making her point.

"I guess I didn't really hate you either. I was just… Well, you know already," said Yang.

Weiss nodded as she recalled the chat they had in Vale at the café.

They continued down the path in comfortable silence. Every time Yang would adjust her hair or look off in the distance, Weiss would sneak a glance at her.

How could sunlight make Yang's hair look so much brighter? Those beautiful curls framed her face like she was some divine entity. Her eyes were a perfect shade of lilac, unlike anything Weiss had seen before.

"Weiss? Is there something wrong?" asked Yang.

Weiss realized she had been caught openly gawking at Yang, "No! I thought I saw something on your face is all," she blushed.

"Oh… Wait, so _is_ there something on my face?" asked Yang as she pointed to her face.

"N-no."

Yang smiled at Weiss' sheepish expression.

A few minutes later, the dance hall came into view. It looked just like they left it.

Yang walked up to the door, "Ladies first," she said, holding the door open for Weiss with a smirk.

 _"You_ are a lady too," said Weiss as she rolled her eyes, amused, "But thank you."

Weiss entered the building and looked around herself. The hall was massive and would surely provide space for anything they could possibly want.

The heiress expected to be excited when she entered the hall, but she felt something else instead. She felt a great deal of remorse.

By the look on Yang's face, Weiss could tell she felt the same.

"Hey, what happened here before is in the past," Yang reassured.

"I said a lot of terrible things to you that day…" said Weiss, looking at the ground.

"I did too, and we forgave each other. Let's just focus on today. We don't have to feel bad about the past anymore, right?" asked Yang, placing a hand between Weiss' shoulder blades.

Weiss really liked it when Yang did that. She smiled at the warm tingling feeling that flowed through her body.

"Right," Weiss answered as she moved deeper into the massive hall.

Weiss spun around, basking in all the space there was in the vacant hall, and giggled, "This is going to be sublime! We can do _so much_ with all this space!"

"Yeah, you said it. We could probably fit a Goliath in here," said Yang as she looked also around, "But remember, we _do_ have a budget."

Weiss looked at Yang, dumbfounded, "Have you forgotten who I am? Money is not a problem for us. We can make this dance the best this school has ever seen!"

Yang smiled fondly at Weiss' determination, "Where do we start with this?"

"Well, I _would_ say we could pick up where we left off, but I don't think we actually got anything done last time," said Weiss, turning to Yang, "I should have made a list of things we needed before coming here."

"Isn't that the point of coming here? To get a list of things we want for the dance?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose you're right," said Weiss as she pulled a sheet of paper out of her bag, "Okay, first things first: we need a theme."

"A theme? What, like a background?" asked Yang.

"Sort of. It's like a subject or ambiance for the dance so we can avoid making it generic. Like if we chose the theme to be a farm, we would have several bales of hay as seats, barrels, and a variety of farm animal decorations," explained Weiss.

"Oh! Right," said Yang as she thumped herself on the head, "Do you have a specific theme in mind?"

"No, but I _do_ have a list of themes that I wrote down yesterday when asking random students what themes they would be interested in," said Weiss, taking out another paper from her bag and showing it to Yang.

"Wow, how many people did you talk to yesterday?" chuckled Yang as she examined the sizable list of themes.

"I'm not completely sure because some people gave more than one suggestion, but there are three-hundred forty-three themes on this sheet. I think I left the other one in the dorm," pouted Weiss.

Yang let out a long whistle, "You've been busy. How about we read some of these off and say whether to take it or leave it until we have a shorter list."

"Great idea," said Weiss as she checked her list, "How about a deep space theme?"

"Space is interesting, but I don't think that would be right for a dance like this," said Yang.

"I concur," said Weiss as she crossed the theme off her list, "A rainforest theme?"

"In fall? That would probably work in summer, but not for this dance, in my opinion," said Yang.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," said Weiss, crossing off another suggestion.

After about eight more suggestions, Yang was bored out of her mind and Weiss just wanted to talk about something else.

"Hey, can I see that list for a second?" asked Yang, kindly.

Weiss nodded and handed the paper to Yang.

Yang looked over the list in detail now and shook her head, "Weiss, I'm sorry, but these suggestions are total garbage."

Weiss groaned and smacked her hands over her face, "I know, they're all either too specific or far too out of season."

"All the people you asked probably were thinking of a dance in summer when they gave you these suggestions," said Yang.

"Ugh, you are so right! I should have been more specific! I did all this for nothing," ranted Weiss as she crumpled up the list and threw it on the floor.

"Hey," said Yang, grasping Weiss' shoulders and looking her in the eyes, "Everything will be just fine. We could easily come up with a theme together, okay?"

Weiss looked into Yang's lilac orbs and felt her frustrations calm. She could stare into those eyes for hours. She took a deep breath.

"Okay."

"Cool," smiled Yang as she made her way to a wall and sat cross-legged against it. She looked at Weiss and patted the ground next to her.

Weiss understood what the blonde was asking her to do and moved to her side. She set down her bag against the wall and sat next to Yang with her legs straight in front of her.

"Alright, let's get brainstorming," Yang began, "Why don't we write down our ideas?"

"Way ahead of you," said Weiss as she took out a book and a pencil, so she could write on the paper.

Yang scooted closer to Weiss so that their arms were touching, "Could you move the paper closer so I can see it too?"

"Sure," said Weiss, comfortable with the proximity between them.

Together, Weiss and Yang came up with a short list of themes to use for the dance, but neither one felt truly passionate about any of them.

If Weiss would be honest with herself, she was barely able to think of a theme. She was completely mesmerized by the blonde girl that was practically leaning on her.

When they both looked at the list in Weiss' hand, it was so easy for the heiress to glance down Yang's shirt. She had to actively resist the urge to look at Yang's assets out of respect for her friend.

Her unbelievably attractive friend.

Her loyal friend who protected her like a knight in shining armor.

"Yang!" shouted Weiss, causing the brawler to flinch at the loud noise.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" said Yang, scooting away from Weiss slightly.

"No, I know what we can do for the theme!" said Weiss excitedly as she stood up, "Let's do a fantasy theme! With kings and knights and castles…" Weiss trailed off.

"And dragons?" asked Yang with a giggle.

"Especially dragons, you sunny little dragon," smirked Weiss, poking Yang in her shoulder.

"Huh? How do you know what my name means? I never told you," said Yang, raising her eyebrow.

The color drained from Weiss' face, "I… May have looked it up."

"You looked me up?" smirked Yang.

Weiss stuttered in response before admitting it, "Yes, but to be fair, I looked up your sister and Blake as well. I wanted to be informed about my team."

Yang laughed and stood up, "It's okay, Weiss. I honestly don't mind. Anyway, I'm totally for this theme. It would work for all seasons and it is super broad. There is _so_ much we could do."

"Yes, I can see it now," said Weiss looking around the hall, "In the very back, we could have a beautiful ice sculpture of a castle. We could put vines and flowers of so many different colors around tables and on the walls. We could even put dust torches on the walls. Not close to any vines, obviously. And high up on the back wall, we could hire someone to build a sculpture of a dragon, looking over the entire hall."

"That sounds awesome! This is going to be so cool!" said Yang, walking up to Weiss.

"We can work on a detailed list of decorations we want later. We should also talk about what kind of music we should play," stated Weiss, "I understand that there are a lot of people who enjoy loud music, flashing lights, and fog machines, so I think the dance would not be complete without those things."

"But that doesn't mean we can't have a slow song or two," said Yang.

"That's a good idea. We could pepper the fun, energetic, hip songs with slower, romantic songs for the couples!"

"Sweet! Okay, so I can handle the loud music, and you can find some slow songs so the lovebirds can have some romance on the dance floor," proposed Yang as Weiss nodded in agreement, "I can find some colorful flashing lights to put on the ceiling, a kick-ass DJ, and some fog machines too if that's okay with you."

"Sounds like a night to remember to me," grinned Weiss, "Oh, are you opposed to having a small group of musicians play a waltz, so some couples could do a classic ballroom dance, just for fun?"

"Do you know how to ballroom dance?" asked Yang putting a hand on her hip.

"Yes, I learned when I was very young."

"Well, I don't know how to ballroom dance. You should teach me, sometime," smiled Yang warmly.

"Why not right now?" Weiss blurted out without thinking. Curse that smile that nullified her intelligent thought.

"Oh! I mean, we _could_ do it now, if you want. I just thought you wanted to keep planning some things out," said Yang with a slight blush.

"We've done so much already, though. I think a short dance break could be beneficial to our overall efficiency," explained Weiss.

"Okay, teach me your ways," said Yang bowing to Weiss.

Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang's antics and grabbed her hand, dragging her to the middle of the dance floor.

"I'm going to teach you how to do a waltz," said Weiss, "First, you have to know something called the box step. Stand beside me and do as I do."

Yang complied and lined herself up with Weiss with her feet together, watching her.

"The box step consists of six steps. First step forward with your left foot, then move your right foot to the side of that foot," explained Weiss.

Yang copied Weiss' movement, "Like this?"

"Yep, that's exactly right," smiled Weiss, "Now move your left foot to your right foot, then step backward with your right foot. Next, move your left foot to the side of your right foot and close the distance with your right foot, like this."

Yang tried to copy Weiss again, but accidentally stepped back with her left foot instead of her right, "Oh, I see the problem."

"Yeah, you need to swap your weight when you move your left foot to your right, or else you won't be making a box. That's what your goal is for this footwork: you are stepping in a box formation, hence the name of this move being the 'box step.'"

"Gotcha," said Yang as she successfully performed the box step, "Was that it?"

"Yeah, you've got it! Now let's have you try it with a partner," said Weiss with a slight blush, "I'll let you lead because it's easier."

Yang walked up to Weiss and stood directly in front of her, "Okay, so how do I hold you."

"Here, give me your hands," said Weiss and she grasped Yang's hands, "Since you are leading, you have to hold my right hand up, like this," Weiss raised Yang's left hand to a height just under the blonde's shoulder, "And your left hand should be resting on my waist, like so," explained Weiss as she positioned Yang's right hand on her waist.

Weiss felt like she would explode. Having Yang's body so close to her was driving her crazy, but she controlled her quickly beating heart and focused on teaching Yang the dance, despite Yang's firm, strong hands resting on her soft, petite form.

"R-ready?" asked Weiss, looking up into the brawler's eyes.

Yang looked down at Weiss and nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready."

Weiss counted off and Yang started moving. She led Weiss through the steps she taught her for a couple of seconds.

At first, Yang was terrified of accidentally stepping on the heiress' feet, but now her confidence was growing, and Weiss started counting faster.

"One two three, one two three, one two three…" Weiss repeated. All the while, Yang's eyes never left Weiss' as they moved throughout the hall, together.

Eventually, Weiss stopped counting and let the tempo remain constant.

"Do you want to do a spin?" asked Weiss as they continued dancing.

"Sure. I actually know how to do a spin," said Yang as she smiled warmly.

"Okay, I'm ready when you are."

After a few more steps, Yang initiated the spin and watched as Weiss gracefully twirled under her arm and flawlessly repositioned herself to continue dancing.

" _You_ are a natural," giggled Weiss.

"This is a lot like fighting, actually. Having to move your feet and focus on your opponent. Or your partner, in this case," said Yang.

"Yes, you're right. My father didn't even let me touch a rapier before I learned how to dance," explained Weiss.

At last, the two girls finished their waltz and slowly let go of each other. Yang looked upon the girl in front of her and sighed, "Thank you for the free lesson, Weiss."

"You are so welcome," said Weiss with a small smile, "I had a lot of fun here, with you, Yang. A lot more fun than I expected."

"I'm glad I could entertain you," said Yang, lightly punching Weiss' shoulder. Yang looked out the windows and saw that the sun was beginning to get low on the horizon, "It's getting kind of late. Do you want to head back to the dorm?"

"Yes, I think today was productive," said Weiss as she grabbed her bag and walked out the door that Yang held open for her.

"Man, I am _hungry,"_ said Yang, putting her hands behind her head and stretching her torso, "Do you think Blake and Ruby have eaten dinner yet?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they have. You should call them just to be sure," answered Weiss.

"Way ahead of you," said Yang as she raised her scroll to her ear.

After a few seconds of ringing, Blake answered her scroll, _"Hey, Yang. Are you at the dorm yet?"_

"No, me and Weiss are heading there right now. Have you two eaten dinner yet?" asked Yang.

" _No, I was just about to ask you the same thing,"_ said Blake.

"Alright, we'll meet you in the dorm and then go to dinner."

" _Sounds like a plan,"_ said Blake before she hung up. 

* * *

Weiss and Yang continued walking down the path, enjoying each other's presence. Every so often, Yang would glance at Weiss, and Weiss would glance in return.

Yang wanted nothing more than to pull the heiress' soft frame closer to her again. Every time she looked at Weiss, she would see her beautiful face and remember how much it took to reveal that scar over her left eye. That beautiful scar.

The brawler knew Weiss did not have the best relationship with her family, but she still wanted to know more. She was curious about what happened when Weiss went to speak with her brother in the CCT.

"Hey, Weiss. I don't mean to be nosey, but what happened with your brother when you went to the CCT?" asked Yang.

Weiss let out a heavy sigh before answering, "I didn't get to speak with Whitley."

"Oh, no. Was it a trap from your dad?"

"Thankfully, no. I had a chance to speak with Klein."

"That's good, but what happened to Whitley?"

"Klein said he was locked in his room like I was before I had to cover my scar," Weiss explained.

"So, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Yang.

Weiss sighed again, "I don't know. My brother was always so contemptuous with Winter and me, so it feels like he deserves to go through what I did. But on the other hand, I know exactly how he feels. When Winter left me to become a soldier for the Altesian military, I felt betrayed. Despite how much of a prick Whitley is, he's still my brother, and now I feel like I betrayed him."

"Hey, you didn't betray anyone. You're only doing what you think is best for yourself by being here and learning to become a huntress. It's not your fault that your father is so controlling and cruel. If Whitley is even a little bit as smart as you are, he will find a way out of there, just like you and your sister did," said Yang.

A hint of a smile appeared on Weiss' face, "Someday your compliments won't work to cheer me up."

"Better use them while they work, then" shrugged Yang.

"You know, you're a lot like Winter," said Weiss as she spotted the dorm building, ahead.

"Really? How so?"

"You're both strong, determined, and really good big sisters," said Weiss with a smirk as Yang chuckled, "I remember when I was younger Winter would take me into Father's study so she could brush my hair before bed. She would always ask me how my day was and tell me about what she did at the academy that day. She would always give me tips for when I started training and talk about how she was undefeated in her class."

Yang opened the door to the dorm building for Weiss as she spoke up, "Again, it sounds like your sister was a bit of a badass," joked Yang.

"She was," replied Weiss, "Winter was the only person in my family that had the guts to stand up for me when my father was angry about something. She would literally put herself in between my father and me, ready to take any punishment he might give."

"That's what big sisters are for. They protect you," said Yang as the two girls stopped in front of their dorm room.

"You're right," said Weiss, smiling sadly, "She used to cheer me up just like you do."

Yang and Weiss entered the dorm and shut the door behind them.

Weiss stood in the middle of the room with her back turned to Yang, "I really miss her..."

Yang saw the broken girl in front of her and felt pain. It hurt her to see Weiss like this. It reminded her of whenever Ruby would get dejected about something, which very rarely happened.

"Well, do you want to know what I would do to cheer Rubes up whenever _she_ was upset?" asked Yang.

"Hm?"

"Tickle fight!" shouted Yang as she wrapped her arms around Weiss and attacked her ribs with her fingers.

"Wha— Yang!" cried Weiss as she laughed and squirmed in Yang's bear hug, "Wait—ha ha ha!—I c-can't take it—ha ha!"

Yang lifted Weiss into the air as she continued tickling her, "Have I cheered you up yet?" she laughed.

"Yes!—ha ha ha!—You have!" Weiss laughed as she kicked the air and got one of her arms free.

Weiss immediately went to tickle Yang back and got her right in that sensitive spot she has under her left rib.

Yang let go in an instant, "Oh! You know my weak spot!"

"You will pay for that, Xiao Long!" cried Weiss as she dove at Yang with her fingers.

Yang tried to back away but ended up stumbling and was tackled by Weiss as she tried to recover.

"Woah!" yelled Yang while Weiss yelped as they fell. Both girls were rapturous as they realized they had just fallen onto the ground.

Weiss was now on top of Yang and looked into her eyes as they laughed.

Those lilac irises had captured her again, and the laughter in the room slowly died out and was replaced with the sounds of the girls' exhausted breathing.

And time stopped.

The dorm and everything in it fell away. All Weiss could see was Yang and her plump lips that were parted slightly.

Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt the arms that were supporting her above the blonde wanting to go limp.

Gods, this girl was beautiful. Weiss felt hesitation grow within her mind, so she searched Yang's eyes for some sign or message. Her mind was keeping her from doing what her heart wanted her to do. Her mind was doing exactly what her father had trained it to do: to be fearful of any mistake or misunderstanding. Her mind was stopping her from doing what she _needed_ to do.

For once in her life, Weiss disobeyed her mind, and let her heart lead the way.

Weiss slowly lowered her face and felt Yang's soft lips meet hers halfway.

They tasted just like she thought they would. Like a sweet summer breeze caressing her lips. Weiss became addicted to that taste and grew hungry for it.

Weiss cupped Yang's face in her hands and deepened their kiss, pouring all her anguish and pent-up feelings into it.

She felt a lack of oxygen start to poke at her lungs, begging for air, but Weiss denied them for as long as she could. She did not want the sheer bliss she was feeling to end.

Unfortunately, the girls' need for air became too great and they parted, gasping for breath. Weiss' icy blue eyes met Yang's perfect lilac again, and they refused to look away from each other.

There was a sound at the door and the dorm fazed back into reality.

Weiss leaped to her feet as the door opened and Blake and Ruby walked in.

"Yang, you really should be more careful," said Weiss as she placed her hands on her hips.

Ruby looked at Yang, confused, "Yang? What happened?"

Yang realized what Weiss was getting at and played along, "I'm still getting used to these new boots," she said as she stood up.

"Well, you've better get used to them fast, because I am _starving!_ " said Ruby as she dashed to get her things.

Yang glanced at Weiss, who was now sitting on her bed, and saw her smirking at her shyly.

Her life just got a whole lot sweeter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	13. Official

Weiss was going insane. It had been one week since she and Yang shared an otherworldly kiss, and every time she thought about it, she could feel the tingling sensation on her lips that she so dearly longed for.

She felt like an utter fool for trying to repress her growing feelings for the blonde, but she reasoned that was not entirely her own fault.

Her father conditioned her to push people away before she left for Beacon, and Weiss had a difficult time disobeying her newly learned behavior.

But right now, all Weiss wanted was to catch Yang alone again. Neither of them had brought up the kiss since it happened, and Weiss needed to know what Yang thought about it.

Surely, the brawler was interested in the heiress, right? Weiss could have sworn Yang leaned up to catch her lips with her own when the heiress went for the kiss, and Yang seemed to enjoy it almost as much as she had.

Weiss shook her head in thought as she trailed behind her team through the dorm building halls. They had just finished lunch and decided to relax in the dorm room for the rest of the day.

_Of course she has feelings for me! She kissed me, and I kissed her!_

Weiss mentally berated herself.

With the kiss fresh in Weiss' mind again, she felt her shoulders relax and her heartbeat quicken. She was so desperate for Yang's touch that she could barely function for more than fifteen minutes at a time.

The heiress had kissed people before, but it felt different with Yang. She felt like Yang returned every ounce of affection that Weiss put into that kiss, and now Weiss wanted more.

There was still the doubt in her mind that made Weiss fear the incredibly slim chance of Yang not wanting the same thing she wanted.

That was why Weiss had not just pulled Yang to the side at any time to talk to her about the kiss: she did not want to seem excessively desperate for Yang without knowing exactly how Yang felt about her.

"Uh, Weiss? Where are you going?" called Ruby who was now behind her.

Weiss snapped out of her thoughts and turned around. She had walked passed the dorm without realizing it in her absent-minded mental ramblings.

"Oh! I must have gone into a stupor," said Weiss as she made her way into the dorm, taking a seat on her bed.

Weiss glanced at Yang's bunk and saw the girl that had plagued her thoughts for the past week smile at her before returning to a game she was playing on her scroll.

The heiress had to lay down and face the wall to avoid jumping onto Yang's bed and stealing a kiss from that beautiful face in front of Ruby and Blake.

She needed to find a way to get Yang alone so they could talk. Weiss remembered she was out of sleeping pills. Having Yang constantly in her thoughts was not making sleeping any easier for Weiss, so she had been relying on them a lot more this week.

That gave her an excuse to go to Vale because she needed some more, and she planned on bringing Yang with her.

_Yang still thinks my pills are just vitamins, so there shouldn't be a problem…_

Weiss stared at the wall. She still felt uncomfortable with talking about her 'vitamins' with anyone, so she decided to avoid telling Yang what she was getting in Vale if she asked.

With her mind concluded, Weiss stood from her bed and walked to the door, "I have to run down to Vale. Do any of you want to come with me?" she asked, hoping Blake and Ruby would decline her offer.

"Nah, Blake lent me this book, and I want to get started on it," said Ruby as she got comfortable on her bed and cracked open the book.

Weiss stared at Blake, bewildered, "You got Ruby to read a _book?_ Like, an actual book and not some comic?"

"It's all about finding your favorite genre, Weiss. And speaking of genre, I think I found my new favorite, so I'll pass on going to Vale as well," said Blake, turning her attention back to a book titled _Ninjas of Love_.

Weiss internally sighed in relief as she turned her gaze to Yang who was seemingly not paying attention, "Yang, would _you_ like to accompany me to Vale? We could do something fun while we're there. My treat."

Yang looked up from her scroll, "Uh… Sure," she hesitated as she hopped off her bunk.

"Excellent," said Weiss as she clasped her hands together and walked out of the dorm with Yang in tow.

Now that she had Yang separated from their other teammates, Weiss wanted to talk about the kiss but was stopped by the sight of other students in the halls. The lack of privacy was annoying, but Weiss could be patient and wait until she found a good spot in Vale.

As they walked, Weiss kept thinking about what she would say and how she would say it to make herself not seem so desperate for Yang.

She had already been in a one-sided relationship once before, and she was embarrassed that she thought she had fallen for that _pig_. Weiss did not think Yang would turn out to be anything like him, but she still wanted to be sure.

Hopefully, by the end of the day, the heiress could indulge in another blissful kiss from the brawler, and Yang would hold her in a strong embrace and never let her go. She would make the heiress feel like she was not just some pawn in someone else's plan, but part of the bigger picture in her own life. Yang would hug her and kiss her and be there for her...

Weiss closed her eyes and smiled at the scene she had created in her mind's eye as they walked.

"So… What do you need in Vale?" asked Yang, pulling Weiss from her daydream.

Weiss would have scolded her for spoiling such a state of mind if it were not for Yang, herself, being the person she was fantasizing about.

"It's nothing too important. It'll only take a moment," said Weiss, waving off Yang's question.

Yang bit her cheek at the oblique answer. 

* * *

When Weiss and Yang arrived at the busy air dock, they waited silently to board a shuttle that would take them down to the city of Vale.

After fifteen minutes, they finally boarded a shuttle. Yang found a seat next to a window and watched as Weiss sat noticeably distant from her.

Yang frowned and looked out the window. 

_Did I do something wrong?'_

Yang wanted to talk to Weiss about the kiss so badly, but Weiss had not said a word about it all week. Maybe it was not as amazing as Yang thought it was.

The longer down the week they went without bringing up the kiss, the more Yang feared Weiss thought she made a mistake kissing her.

_That kiss was great though! No, it was better than great. It was fantastic! But I'm such a damn idiot for letting it happen! She told me she had recently been in a bad breakup with a person she was in a relationship with for two years. Obviously, she's not ready for another one yet!'_

Yang mentally chided herself as she gazed out of the window.

_She probably just kissed me on impulse anyway, and I can't blame her. Maybe I kissed her back on an impulse too..._

Yang was not feeling good about this trip with Weiss anymore.

When the shuttle docked in Vale, finished with its voyage, all the passengers funneled out of the doors and into the city where they could do whatever they came there to do.

"Where are we headed to, Weiss?" asked Yang with a drawn-out breath.

"Um, we don't have to get what I need right away. Are you hungry? We could get some lunch first if you would like," offered Weiss.

Yang raised her eyebrow, "No, I'm good. We just had lunch before we left Beacon, remember?"

Weiss' eyes widened with realization, "Oh, right! I don't know how I forgot that."

"Are you still hungry? Maybe that's why you forgot?" Yang questioned.

"N-no, I'm not hungry."

"Then why did you ask to go to lunch?"

"I said I would treat you while we were here as thanks for coming with me. Lunch was just the first thing that came to mind," said Weiss as several people walked around them.

"You don't have to treat me to come with you, Weiss. Let's just get what you need and head back," Yang chuckled slightly.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, "I'm going to treat you whether you like it or not, Yang Xiao Long," scolded Weiss as she turned on her heel.

Yang stood there, pondering Weiss' threat for a split second before following her. She was not liking the sudden regression of her progress in getting closer to the heiress. It felt like Weiss was hiding things from her again and kissing her last week must have had something to do with how defensive she was acting today.

The two girls walked down the block with Yang trailing slightly behind the heiress. There was a cloud of tension around them, and Weiss was making it difficult for Yang to keep up with her without jogging because she was practically speed walking through the city.

Weiss had not even looked at her since they got there.

_Dammit! It was going so well! I thought she would be mine after last week, but now she's sort of avoiding me but still wants to spend time with me? This is so confusing!'_

Yang's mind raced. She wanted nothing more than to hold Weiss close to her like when they did the waltz in the dance hall last week.

She felt a pang of hurt splinter through her chest at the thought of Weiss telling her she had made a mistake by kissing her.

The brawler rubbed her hand over her face in an effort to wipe such an outcome from her mind. What if that was why Weiss brought her to Vale? To get away from Ruby and Blake and find some privacy to tell Yang the very thing she was afraid of.

Was that an irrational thought? Yang did not think so, given Weiss' current body language and attitude.

A wave of panic enveloped Yang's mind. She needed more time to think, but she did not have any. Yang had never felt this way about anyone before. She was mortified by the thought of Weiss not liking her back.

Yang was so busy with her fit of anxiety that she failed to see Weiss stop in front of her. She bumped into the heiress and managed to catch her before she stumbled and fell.

Weiss hastily removed herself from Yang's hold on her and checked the people around them.

"I'm so sorry!" Yang said, biting her tongue.

"I-it's fine," said Weiss, straightening her skirt, "It's been a tough week. How about we spend a few hours in this spa for a relaxing steam bath. Just the two of us?"

Yang immediately pictured Weiss in nothing but a towel in a hot room, her perfect, pale skin glistening with moisture. She did not get time to enjoy it, however, because her anxiety about Weiss was acting up again.

"Yang? Hello~?" Weiss said, waving a hand in front of Yang's face.

"Uh, I don't know, Weiss. I don't really feel like sitting in a hot room right now," said Yang.

Weiss looked at her with an annoyed expression, "It's not just a 'hot room,' Yang. It's a steam bath. It will help you get the toxins out of your body and make you feel better. Plus, it will give us a chance to talk… About stuff."

Yang snapped her focus to the heiress, "Talk about what stuff?"

"Uh, stuff like that test that's coming up next week in Port's class, or… The weather?" managed Weiss as she watched a couple pass by behind Yang.

Yang's shoulders slumped forward, and she looked everywhere besides where Weiss was standing. Did Weiss _forget_ what happened last week?

"I'm going to pass on that," said Yang.

Yang wanted so very badly to go and have a steam bath with Weiss, but she really needed some time to think about what she would say before Weiss talks to her.

"Fine, let's just go get my stupid pi—I mean, my items," corrected Weiss.

"What was that?" said Yang, who had missed what the heiress had said while she was lost in her mental ramblings.

"I just said we're going to get my things before we head back to the dorm," said Weiss, thankful that Yang didn't catch her slip up. 

* * *

Despite Weiss saying they would get her items and leave, she still tried to get Yang to several secluded areas.

They passed by the park on the way to the store, and Weiss asked Yang if she wanted to take a stroll down the secluded path, to which Yang declined.

Weiss now wore a miserable expression on her face, and Yang was almost done making a mental script of what she would say to Weiss before accepting one of her offers to do something where they could be alone together.

At last, the girls arrived at a pharmacy a total of six hours after they entered the city.

"You can just wait out here, I guess," Weiss sighed as she walked up to the door, "I'll be back in a moment."

With that, Weiss entered the pharmacy and Yang took a seat on a bench outside.

Weiss walked up to the pharmacist and looked around before motioning her over to her, "Hello Cinder, I need some more Temazepam," she nearly whispered.

Cinder was the pharmacist at the establishment and was the only person in Vale who knew about her sleeping pills. She was Weiss' personal physician at one point and prescribed the sleeping pills to her when she was younger. Jacques Schnee provided Cinder with a pharmacy while Weiss stayed at Beacon so she could supply Weiss with her medicine and keep the circle of people who knew about Weiss' condition a secret. The heiress had become good friends with her over the years.

The pharmacist looked at Weiss with concern in her eyes, "So soon? Weiss, I hope you aren't taking any more than the recommended dosage. That could cause some serious damage."

"Just give me the damn pills, Cinder," said Weiss rubbing a hand over her face.

Cinder reluctantly filled a pill bottle marked with the name of the medication on it with pills and put it in a paper bag, "When was the last time you called home, Weiss? Does your father even know about your scar?"

Weiss flinched at the unexpected mention of her father, "I called Klein last week, and no, he doesn't know the secret it out. I intend to keep it that way."

Cinder nodded in understanding. She had worked with Mr. Schnee for long enough to know how demanding and unreasonable he could be.

"What's wrong, Weiss? You were so happy last time you came through here," said Cinder, leaning on the counter.

Weiss looked out the window and saw Yang talking on her scroll outside, "Remember how I told you I found someone I really liked?" she asked as Cinder nodded her head, "That person was Yang."

Cinder smirked, "I knew it."

Weiss smiled and shook her head, "We kissed last week."

"Wow, that's amazing! But why are you troubled then?"

"Things are weird between us right now. We haven't had a chance to talk about the kiss yet. I brought her here to get us some space from all the people on campus to talk, but I feel like she's avoiding me. I've tried to get her alone to talk with her so many times and she's just not cooperating," Weiss vented.

Cinder took a second to take all that information in, "Well, if you want my advice, you should take charge and demand that she talk to you. No more messing around."

"But I don't want to seem so desperate in case she doesn't feel the same way," Weiss sighed.

"Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet, Weiss," said Cinder, "You know, I think this is the most I've heard you say in one of these visits."

Weiss smirked, "You can thank Yang for that. Thanks, Cinder," she said as she waved goodbye after buying a bottle of shampoo as a decoy item so she would not leave the store empty-handed.

The heiress was glad to have someone from an outside perspective to talk to. She knew Cinder would never get involved in her personal life unless Weiss asked her to, and that is just the way she liked it.

She did not want to outright ask Yang about the kiss just yet, however. She decided she would try to do this subtly one more time.

"It took you ten minutes to buy a bottle of shampoo?" asked Yang with a smirk.

"I had a chat with an employee while I was in there," Weiss said, looking around, "I'm getting kind of hungry. Let's eat dinner over there."

Weiss pointed at a restaurant that looked almost completely empty.

"I just got off the scroll with Rubes and told her we would be heading back to have dinner with them, so we should just get back to the dorm," replied Yang.

Weiss gave Yang a blank expression and pulled out her scroll, calling Ruby, "Hello, Ruby. Yang and I found a nice place for dinner in Vale, so we're just going to eat here," she said when Ruby picked up. The heiress did not even wait for Ruby to respond before hanging up, "Let's go, Yang."

Yang gulped before following Weiss into the restaurant.

A hostess greeted them immediately and seated them in a booth in a less crowded area of the establishment.

The brawler was avoiding eye contact with the heiress while they waited for the waitress.

All the while, Weiss glared at those sultry lips and thought about how they would belong to her by the end of this day.

"Hello! What can I get you two?" asked a waitress that had tended to them.

"I'll have a classic bacon cheeseburger. Medium rare," said Weiss, her eyes not leaving Yang.

"You've got it, ma'am. And for you, miss?" asked the waitress.

Yang was confused by the heiress' extraordinarily unhealthy choice of food, "U-uh, I'll have what she's having," she said.

"Alright, I'll be back with your food shortly," said the waitress as she walked away.

By now, Yang had noticed Weiss' cold glare that refused to assuage on her. She felt more uncomfortable by the second.

Yang was about to say something, but Weiss beat her to it, "Yang, would you come with me to the restroom?"

"But I don't need to use the bathroom right now," said Yang, carefully.

Weiss sighed and looked away for a second before turning back and looked straight into Yang's eyes, her frustration evident on her face, " _Yang_ , would you come with me to the restroom," she offered her again.

Yang glanced around the establishment for something to look at that wasn't Weiss' icy gaze, "U-um, yeah! I would l-love to," she panicked.

Without saying another word, Weiss stood from her seat and lead Yang to the restroom.

Yang hung her head knowing she was walking right into the lions' den and braced herself for a broken heart.

Weiss found the restroom and threw the door open, walking in and quickly peeking under the stalls for anyone else.

There was no one.

Yang shut the door behind them and kept her eyes on the floor while she spoke, "Before you say anything I just want you to know that mph—"

Before Yang could finish her sentence, Weiss grabbed Yang by her orange scarf and pressed those prized lips onto her own.

The heiress felt that ecstatic euphoria that she had become addicted to last week surge through her as she pushed Yang against the door, effectively sealing the two girls in.

This kiss was filled with hunger and want, but it was also full of passion and longing.

Weiss felt herself moan into the kiss and had to end it before she lost control of herself.

"I've been waiting all week to do that again," said Weiss with labored breaths.

Yang felt the euphoria herself and basked in the relief she felt because Weiss _did_ feel the same way.

Yang cupped Weiss' cheek in her hand and kissed her again, for another second or two.

"Let's go back to the table and talk," said Weiss with a smile as Yang opened the door for her.

They made their way back to the table and sat down, the cloud of uneasiness that had surrounded them, finally gone.

"Can I start?" asked Yang.

"By all means," Weiss motioned for her to speak.

Yang took a deep breath, "I knew I had feelings for you _before_ we kissed last week. I just thought you should know that I really wanted to kiss you and that I really enjoyed it. I was kind of hoping you had feelings for me too. I think it's safe to assume you do, and that makes me really happy. Now, the reason I was acting the way I was today is because I was afraid you didn't enjoy the kiss as much as I did. You have no idea how relieved I am that you did. When you were trying to get me alone to talk, I thought it would be to tell me you made a mistake."

Weiss smiled fondly and shook her head, "I really wanted to kiss you, too, and after everything you've done for me, with the scar and the annoying Cardin incidents, I was honestly bound to develop feelings for you. Come to think of it: I think I've always had feelings for you. The first day I saw you, I saw how beautiful you are. The way your hair fell over your shoulders and your one-of-a-kind eye color, but I digress. Now you know that I was just trying to get you alone so I could kiss you again," she chuckled, "I'm sorry for not being direct with you. I'm sure this whole ordeal could have been avoided. I was just trying to find a way to talk with you about the kiss we shared last week without seeming too desperate in case you didn't feel as strongly for me as I do for you."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," chortled Yang.

"You're one to talk, Xiao Long," said Weiss, amused.

Yang laughed and nodded her head as the waitress placed their food on the table and left.

"You think I'm beautiful?" asked Yang with a smile on her face and wonder in her eyes.

Weiss rested her face in the palm of her hand on the table, "Yang, I can definitively say that you are the most beautiful person I have ever met, on the inside as well as the outside."

"You're not so hard on the eyes yourself," said Yang as she blushed and let out a huff through her nose, "So, this whole thing was just a big misunderstanding?"

Weiss began to giggle, "I suppose so."

That delicate laugh was so rare and even more contagious. It was not long before Yang began to giggle herself.

After a few seconds, the laughter subsided, and Weiss felt content with gazing into Yang's eyes as they gazed into hers.

"I have feelings for you, and you have feelings for me. So… What are we?" asked Weiss.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," said Yang.

"Yang Xiao Long… How would _you_ like to be my _girlfriend?"_ asked Weiss, getting jittery at the concept.

Yang smiled longingly at the heiress, "Weiss… I would _love_ to be your girlfriend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	14. Secrets

Witnessing Weiss eat such a massive cheeseburger was so surreal. She handled it so delicately as if it were a five-star meal at some fancy restaurant.

Yang sat across from the heiress, licking her fingers clean of grease and sauce that had made its way onto them after finishing her burger.

Meanwhile, Weiss' dish and hands were spotless as she continued to practically nibble away at her meal.

Yang made an attempt to hide her growing amusement at watching Weiss eat, but it was ultimately futile. The brawler began to snicker, quietly.

"What's so funny?" asked Weiss as she carefully set the burger on her plate.

"You are," said the blonde, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're eating a cheeseburger like it's caviar or something," Yang chuckled.

"I don't see anything wrong with that," smirked Weiss as she popped one of Yang's fries into her mouth.

"You've got to understand that cheeseburgers are common people food. This kind of thing isn't meant to be treated nicely," said Yang as she popped a few fries into her own mouth and continued to speak while chewing, "You've jush got to dive in and not worry about getting shome greash on your handsh or ketchup on your mouth. Thash jush part of the experiensh."

"Must you speak with your mouth full?" asked Weiss, amusedly rolling her eyes.

Yang swallowed and spoke again, "That's just part of the experience of eating fast food too."

"Alright, how about this:" Weiss began, "I'll promise to stop worrying about getting my hands messy if you promise not to talk with your mouth full."

Yang put her hands up and grinned, "That sounds great to me. Pinky promise," she said as she offered her pinky to Weiss.

"Yang, a normal promise would work just fine," tried Weiss as Yang wiggled her pinky in front of her, "…Ugh, _fine."_ Weiss interlocked her pinky with Yang's, "I promise."

Yang sat eagerly while Weiss picked up her burger, "Just dive right it. Take a huge bite and get all that unhealthy goodness in ya."

Weiss gave Yang a strange look and focused on her burger again. It suddenly looked much less appetizing.

Yang noticed the heiress' hesitation, "You made a pinky promise, Weiss," she teased.

"I know! I know! Just give me a second," said Weiss as she stared down the burger.

At last, Weiss went for a bite, only to hear Yang chant, "More! More!"

Weiss chomped down into a bite much larger than she thought was acceptable and ignored the feeling of warm grease drip through her fingers and fall onto her plate. Instead, Weiss focused on all the ingredients as they coalesced into one fantastic blast of flavor.

"Woah," was all the heiress could say as she chewed.

"Look who's talking with their mouth full _now,"_ Yang teased.

"Oh hush, you," said Weiss, still chewing.

Yang laughed and leaned back in her seat, "See? What did I tell you?"

Weiss swallowed, "You were right about 'the experience.' I'll give you that. I don't think I'll be eating these very often, however. They do make quite the mess," she said as she wiped off her hands with a napkin.

"Speaking of messes, you've got some ketchup on your mouth," said Yang as she leaned across the table and wiped the ketchup off Weiss' face with her finger.

Weiss surveyed the area for any onlookers as Yang licked the ketchup off her finger, "Yang, why did you do that?" she whispered.

Yang looked confused, "Uh… There was ketchup on your face."

Weiss was going to say something but was stopped by the waitress with their bill. She paid for both of their meals despite Yang trying her hardest to at least cover her share.

As they walked out of the restaurant, the couple realized it was getting late and started for the air dock in hopes of catching a shuttle back to Beacon.

"Man, I'm so glad we're finally together. I don't think I'll ever get used to calling you my girlfriend," said Yang as she rested her hands behind her head, "Ruby's going to freak out when we tell her," she chuckled.

Weiss bit her lip, "Yang… We need to keep our relationship a _secret,"_ she said, reluctantly.

Yang snapped her attention to the heiress, "What? Why?"

"Have you forgotten about my father? He is still a catastrophic problem for me," said Weiss.

"Weiss, he is literally _thousands_ of miles away from here in Atlas. He _can't_ touch you," argued Yang.

"Were you even paying attention to what I told you about my father? He's unbelievably powerful! His reach is unmatched by any other man on Remnant. He _will_ find out if we aren't careful, and if he does, he will not be happy about his daughter dating another girl. Don't you understand he could take me away from Beacon? Away from _you?_ I'm only allowed to attend this academy on my father's whim," explained Weiss.

"I won't let him take you away," said Yang, stubbornly.

"Yang, you don't understand. He is capable of terrible things. He will ruin you and make sure you are expelled and never accepted into another school on remnant or _worse."_

"It doesn't matter. I don't care about what happens to me."

"Well, I do!" cried Weiss as she put herself in front of the blonde, "I don't want to lose you because of my father."

Yang gazed into Weiss' pleading, crystal-blue eyes and sighed, "How long do we have to keep us a secret?"

"I… I'm not sure," said Weiss, looking at the ground, "It could be a while."

Yang nodded, "Okay… We can do this. Could we at least tell Ruby and Blake?" she said as they resumed walking to the airdock.

"I would prefer to keep it just between us for now. Keep the circle small. Maybe we could tell them later," answered Weiss.

Yang was starting to hate Jacques Schnee almost as much as Weiss did. Of _course_ there was always a catch to everything good that happened. She was disappointed that she would have to hide something from her sister, but she would do it for Weiss. Ruby would forgive her.

It was also disappointing that Yang would not be able to flaunt her girlfriend around and shoot down anyone who tried to flirt with her by telling them she was already taken. She was _really_ looking forward to that.

"This won't be easy for either of us. You know that, right?" asked Yang.

Weiss nodded in agreement, "I think just knowing that you're my girlfriend will help with it," she smirked.

Yang smiled back, despite not feeling happy in the slightest. Not being able to hold or kiss Weiss for a week was torture, and having to restrain herself all the time would most likely be even more agonizing. She knew because of the way Weiss' smirk slowly faded away, the reality she had thought about had settled on her too.

For the rest of the way back to the dorms, the couple was quietly thinking. They made sure there was enough space between them on the seat in the shuttle and refrained from touching or holding hands on their way to the dorm building.

Now, they walked side by side to their room where Ruby and Blake were probably waiting for them, having returned from their own dinner several minutes ago.

Sure enough, Weiss and Yang entered the dorm and found Ruby reading a book on her bed. Blake was in the bathroom, judging by the light shining from underneath the bathroom door.

"Oh! You're finally back," said Ruby as she hopped off her bed, "What took you guys so long?"

"We made a few stops on the way to the store," answered Weiss.

"Well, did you get anything?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah, she bought some shampoo," said Yang as Weiss walked passed Ruby and set her item on the bedside table.

Ruby looked perplexed, "It took you _seven hours_ to buy _one_ bottle of shampoo!?"

"Weiss had a pretty lengthy conversation with the employee working there," said Yang, sheepishly playing with her hair.

As Ruby picked up the shampoo bottle and inspected it, Blake walked out of the bathroom, "Hey guys," she said simply as she took a seat on her bed.

"Blake! Look!" shouted Ruby as she practically shoved the bottle of shampoo into Blake's arms.

"Uh… Ruby, this is just a bottle of Weiss' shampoo," said Blake, confused.

"This is the _only_ thing they got during the _seven_ hours that they were in Vale!" cried Ruby.

"I think you're making a much bigger deal out of this than it really is," Blake chuckled, "Though, it is strange that it would take so long to get this. What else did you guys do in Vale?" asked Blake with a raised eyebrow.

"I said I would treat Yang before we left as thanks for coming with me, so I took her to a spa," answered Weiss, hastily, "We didn't do anything too special. Just a steam bath, but it was still _divine_. Right, Yang?"

The brawler watched as all eyes landed on her. She hesitated for a split second before answering, "I thought it was alright. I think I would have enjoyed it more if we did the whole package."

Yang did not like the feeling she had in the pit of her stomach after lying to Ruby's face. She hoped she would not have to do that often.

" _Yang_ , you should have told me that. I would've gladly paid for the both of us," said Weiss, lying like a mythomaniac.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that next time," said Yang, dejectedly.

"Dang, I kind of wish I went with you two now," said Blake, "I could really use a trip to the spa."

"What? Blake, I thought you didn't like water," said Ruby as she grabbed a pair of pajamas to change into.

"Swimming, Ruby. I don't like swimming," corrected Blake.

"Oh," said Ruby as she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

"You don't like swimming?" asked Yang, "Why?"

"I just… Don't like getting my hair wet. It's a huge pain. Unfortunately, my hair isn't as exuberant as yours. You sat in a hot, steamy room for hours and your hair looks as good as ever, for Oum's sake," explained Blake.

Yang laughed nervously, "Yeah, that makes sense."

Weiss yawned as Ruby walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas.

"Wow, I am _exhausted._ I think I'm just going to go to bed early. Feel free to continue talking if you wish," said Weiss, walking into the bathroom with her nightgown in hand.

"I think I'm going to bed too, actually," said Blake as she laid down on her bed, already in her nightwear.

"Sweet dreams, Blake. I'm going to stay up and read a little longer," said Ruby as she climbed onto her bed.

Yang found that nobody was watching her and decided to change into her sleepwear in the room. Eventually, Weiss came out of the bathroom, and Yang figured the heiress had probably just taken her medicine to put her to sleep for the night.

Her beautiful girlfriend gave her a tired smile before laying on her bed and almost instantly falling asleep.

Yang adored Weiss' smile so much. She smiled, herself, without realizing it. That smile, however, left her face as quickly as it came. She had yet to tell Weiss that she snooped around in her things. That she knew about her medication. That she was keeping a secret from her.

It did not help that she felt terrible for lying to her sister as well.

Yang spent that night lying awake, thinking about what to do. 

* * *

Weiss stretched as she sat up in her bed and yawned. She had the most delightful dream last night.

It was just Yang and her sitting on the roof of the dorm building, watching the sun fade away over the horizon.

Now that Weiss thought about it, that seemed to be more of a memory than a dream. She recalled that happening the day Yang saw her scar for the first time.

Weiss looked up at Yang's bunk and peered through the dimly lit darkness to see Yang's mop of bright blonde hair hanging off the bed slightly.

 _My beautiful blonde brute…_

She smiled to herself.

Yawning again, the heiress reluctantly removed herself from her warm bed, trudged to the bathroom, and got ready for the day.

When she got out of the bathroom, Blake was already awake and immediately took her turn in the bathroom after saying a quick 'good morning' to Weiss.

To the heiress' surprise, Yang was awake too and hopped off her bunk when she saw her.

"Morning, Weiss," said the brawler as she stood directly in front of her.

Yang glanced at Ruby's bed and saw the younger girl snoring quietly. Weiss heard it too and allowed Yang to kiss her for a moment.

Weiss hoped that would be all she needed from Yang to get through the day.

"Good morning," smiled Weiss after the kiss.

"So… How did you sleep?" asked Yang.

"I slept well. I actually had a very pleasant dream. I'll tell you about it later," said Weiss, sitting on her bed, "What about you? Did you sleep well?"

"Honestly? Not at all. I was up for a long time last night just _thinking._ I'll tell you about it later," said Yang as she crossed her arms.

Weiss nodded, understanding that the subject of Yang's thoughts was probably their new relationship.

"That was the worst conversation I've ever heard," said Blake who was now outside of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair and body.

Weiss's eyes shot straight to the amber-eyed girl, "Blake! How long were you standing there?"

"Um, like, fifteen seconds? I was about to hop in the shower, but I realized I forgot my clean ribbon," explained Blake.

"Oh," said Weiss and Yang, simultaneously, now understanding why their teammate was dressing in nothing but two towels.

"Wait, but why did you wrap a towel around your hair if you haven't even showered yet?" asked Yang.

Blake raised her finger and thought for a moment before answering, _"That_ is a good question," she said as she walked back into the bathroom and shut the door.

Weiss raised her eyebrow and glanced at Yang, who simply shrugged.

After Ruby woke up and everyone was ready, the team went straight to the dining room to get some breakfast before classes started for the day.

As usual, Team JNPR joined them at the same table the group of eight always sat at.

Weiss was in an exceptionally good mood today. Last week she was mostly quiet because her mind was so preoccupied with her first kiss with Yang, but now she did not have to worry about that.

Instead of the blank expression she usually wore, she had a hint of a smile on her face, which Nora almost instantly pointed out.

"Look at you, Ice Queen! It's like you're a completely different person with that smile on your face!" shouted Nora.

"Nora, we talked about this. Calling Weiss names is not nice," chided Pyrrha.

"It's fine, Pyrrha. I know she's just messing around. And to respond to what you said, Nora: I simply don't have that many reasons to be bitter anymore," shrugged Weiss.

"Really? And what caused that?" asked Nora, plopping onto her seat.

"I can't say for sure, but I think I have a fairly good idea," Weiss smirked as she lightly rubbed her leg against Yang's, causing the blonde to blush ever so slightly.

"Well, whatever it is, thank goodness for it! You were such a bitch at the start of the year!" laughed Nora.

"Hey!" pouted Weiss

"Nora! We talked about this!" shouted Pyrrha.

"Guys, I told you the effort was futile," said Ren as he took a bite of his breakfast.

A smile returned to Weiss' face as she saw Yang and Ruby laugh at the situation. Nora always said what was on her mind, and she supposed it was funny… Sometimes.

By the time Team RWBY was sitting in their first class of the day, Weiss was still feeling confident that she could make it through the day without yearning for Yang's touch _too_ horribly. She sat and listened to Professor Port's lecture, absorbing all the useful information that was encrypted within a story of one of his past triumphs.

The heiress could tell Yang was bored already, based on the blank expression on her face and her constant staring into space.

Weiss had not realized how great the lighting was in this lecture hall. Yang was not even paying attention and she looked like a goddess, deep in thought. She wondered what she was thinking about.

Perhaps Yang was thinking about their recent trip to Vale, or something else entirely.

After staring at Yang for five minutes, Weiss caught herself not paying attention to the lecture and hastily scrambled to resume her notetaking.

Weiss began to have a hard time concentrating on the professor's lesson after that. Now, she was thinking about what happened between Yang and her yesterday.

The heiress faded off into a blank stare as she remembered how much she wanted to kiss Yang before she finally got to. She was so glad things ended up the way they did.

Weiss could _really_ go for another kiss right about now.

"Uh oh," whispered Weiss, pulling Yang out of her stupor.

"What's wrong?" asked Yang, keeping her voice down to avoid provoking their professor.

"It's nothing. I just lost focus for a second," said Weiss as she returned to her notes.

All Weiss had to do was not think about Yang, and she would be fine.

She put in a valiant effort, but it was doomed to fail as Weiss snapped out of another daydream of her and Yang together.

Weiss hoped her relationship with Yang would not always be like this, but she also hoped she would never lose this spark that they had. It seemed nowadays that Weiss could not function without Yang being in her thoughts.

Weiss took a deep breath and returned to her notes once again. She was starting to become irritable due to her lack of focus. 

* * *

By the end of Professor Port's lecture, Weiss was barely trying to take notes. She had given up around the seventh time her mind wandered off.

Her next two classes went very similarly, but Weiss was starting to crave Yang more by the second.

In her mind, her situation with Yang was like having a piece of cake but not being able to eat it. She just had to stare at it until she could nibble at it while nobody was watching.

The heiress had gotten so close to Yang and was already in a relationship with her, but it seemed like everything just went back to normal after that.

Weiss gritted her teeth as she followed her team to the dining hall for lunch. She could not take this anymore.

Team JNPR was already back at the table, and Ruby waved happily in greeting them as they sat down.

"Hey, guys!" called Ruby, "Who else is ready for this week to be over already? Today has been _so_ boring so far!"

"You can say that again!" cried Nora, dramatically, "I've never fallen asleep in class before today!"

"It actually scared us when it happened," added Jaune, "We could have sworn she died of boredom."

Ruby laughed as she and Jaune began to talk about something else.

Meanwhile, Nora seemed to notice the palpable frown on Weiss' face, "It's only been three hours, and you're already frowning again!"

"What does it matter to you, _Nora_ ," said Weiss, bitterly.

"Everyone likes the nice, happy Ice Queen better! So why don't you turn that frown upside down?" said Nora as she pointed a finger at the heiress.

"Or what? You'll call me a bitch again?" snapped Weiss as she smacked Nora's hand out of her face.

"Weiss, woah," said Ruby, concerned, "What happened?"

"Nothing happened! I just—ugh!" groaned Weiss as she shot up from her seat and made her way to the exit.

Weiss looked straight a Yang as she left the dining hall.

"That was strange," said Blake, "I hope everything is okay."

"Maybe her dad did something?" proposed Ruby.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go talk to her and find out," said Yang as she stood from the table, "I'll see you guys in our next class."

Yang walked straight out the exit and found Weiss sitting on a bench nearby. She jogged over to her and sat down next to her.

"What's up?" asked Yang.

Weiss looked Yang in the eyes and felt the frustration on her features wane slightly.

"Follow me," said Weiss as she stood up and started for the academic building.

Yang could tell Weiss was fuming and had a good idea of what she needed right now. She smirked as she pulled out a stick of lip balm from her pocket and applied it, causing the heiress to roll her eyes with a hint of a smile.

The couple entered the academic hall and walked past the library to the main lecture halls area.

There were currently classes in session, so there were no private areas available to them.

Until Weiss spotted a door down the hall.

Weiss grabbed Yang's hand and pulled her to the point of interest. She looked around for any bystanders and, seeing none, opened the door to examine the interior.

The room appeared to be a supply closet with nothing but a few brooms, a mop, and several power tools on the walls.

It was _perfect._

Weiss looked at Yang and motioned for her to enter the closet with a smug smile.

Yang obliged and walked in. It was much more spacious than it looked from the outside.

Weiss entered and pulled the door, making sure it was firmly closed. She turned around and watched as Yang approached her and tilted her chin up.

Yang pushed Weiss against the door and found her lips with her own in the darkness. Weiss giggled into the kiss at the taste of Yang's lip balm.

"Really? Cherry chapstick?" said Weiss in between kisses.

"I bought it right after the first time we kissed," chuckled Yang.

Weiss brought her arms up and wrapped them around the blonde's neck, deepening the kiss.

"I can't fucking function without you," breathed Weiss.

Yang hummed in delight at Weiss' use of profane language.

"Oum, you're like a drug, and I'm just an addict: constantly craving for more," groaned Weiss.

"You're a pretty hot addict if you ask me," Yang smirked and broke the kiss.

Weiss giggled as Yang leaned down to connect her forehead with hers.

Yang was Weiss' drug. Unfortunately, Yang remembered that Weiss had other drugs and the smile fell off her face.

She turned away from Weiss, her grievances at the forefront of her mind again.

"Yang? What's wrong?" asked Weiss, concerned.

Yang did not want to bring up her knowledge of Weiss' pills. She mentally kicked herself for keeping it from Weiss this long. She decided this was not the right time for that conversation.

Instead, Yang chose to talk to Weiss about something else that was bothering her.

"I just can't get over the fact that I lied to Ruby. Right to her face. I mean, she looks up to me and always expects me to tell her the truth. I feel like I'm betraying her," explained Yang.

"Yang, I had no idea," said Weiss, walking around the brawler so they could talk face to face, "Is that why you were so glum last night before I went to sleep?"

"Was it that obvious?" Yang said with a sad smile.

"I'm so sorry, Yang. I shouldn't have asked you to lie to your little sister. I don't want you to keep this a secret from her if it's putting you in such a bind. If you really need to, I wouldn't be opposed to letting Ruby know about us," offered Weiss, placing a hand on Yang's arm.

Yang shook her head, "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that, but I heard what you said to me yesterday. We are in this together, and this is our secret to keep. If you truly believe your father will be as big of a threat as you say he will be, then I believe you. That being said, as soon as you are ready to go public with our relationship, I'll be ready, too."

Yang pulled Weiss into a gentle, warm hug.

"Thank you…" whispered Weiss.

The heiress could not help but feel safe in Yang's embrace and that, in the end, everything would be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	15. The More the Merrier

Thanks to their new safe haven, Weiss and Yang were able to get through a whole month without driving themselves crazy. Weiss did not believe she could have pushed herself to keep their relationship a secret without it.

The supply closet in the academic hall became their go-to spot for when one of the girls was craving the other's attention. It happened so often, however, that a visit to the supply closet became part of the couple's daily routine.

Usually, they would stop by the closet after lunch for a quick make-out session before they continued on with pretending they were nothing more than friends.

Weiss quickly realized that the short sessions in the supply closet were not an effective substitute for actually spending one on one time with Yang. She viewed the closet as a sort of temporary pick-me-up during a stressful day or _any_ day, for that matter.

The heiress had to come up with a way for her to spend time with Yang alone without Ruby, Blake, or anyone getting suspicious. Her mind immediately pictured the dance hall.

Weiss and Yang already spent so many wonderful hours in the dance hall, so they were both comfortable with spending most of their weekend there. They simply told Ruby and Blake that they spent so much time there because they were always busy planning the dance. This was not a total lie either because they _did_ plan the dance for about half the time and would enjoy each other's presence for the remainder.

Right now, however, the dance hall felt more cramped than usual, despite the surfeit of space. Normally, it was just Weiss and Yang planning the dance, but today, there was a man in the hall with them.

"Yes, I can totally see this working," said the man, "These are some pretty advanced designs! You ever consider making a career out of your artistic ability instead of being a huntress?"

"It never really came to mind before now," admitted Weiss, "But, I'm so glad you like them. I just need to know if you can pull this off."

The man nodded, examining the designs of a dragon for the dance that Weiss sketched, "I can definitely do this. It'll cost you quite a bit though."

"Lucky for us, money is no object," said Weiss, smiling at the sculptor they were about to hire to create the dragon to be hung up on the back wall of the dance hall as the centerpiece of the decorations for the fantasy theme they had chosen.

"Alright! If you decide to hire me, just call the number on this card," said the sculptor, handing Yang a card with his information on it.

"Roman Torchwick?" said Yang, curiously.

"Yup, that's my name!" said the sculptor, handing Weiss' designs back to her.

"That won't be necessary," said Weiss, holding up her hand, "You are already hired. You may keep the designs for references."

Yang gave Weiss a curious look and Roman spoke, "Wow, you sure are putting a lot of faith in me. I only showed you _one_ of my portfolios."

"And I was awestruck when I saw everything you made," complimented Weiss, "Tell you what, when we see the dragon and think it's perfect, we will double your payment. That is sure to make this project your best work, I hope."

Roman looked at Weiss like she told him he won the lottery, "You can't be serious!"

"I would say she's serious, dude," smirked Yang as Weiss nodded.

"I'm honored! My partner and I will get started on it immediately! I swear to you, you will not be disappointed," said Roman, frenziedly.

"I'm confident we will not be," smiled Weiss as she led Roman to the exit of the dance hall.

After shaking, both, Yang and Weiss' hands, the sculptor tipped his hat to the ladies and left.

Weiss waved goodbye and shut the door, "I thought he'd never leave," she said in a sultry voice as she turned to face Yang.

Yang smirked as she stepped closer to the heiress, placing her hands upon Weiss' delicate hips and kissing her deeply.

"You are _so_ impatient," Yang giggled as they broke apart, "You said you would pay a man we just met double his asking price just so he would go away."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "He only gets double if the dragon is absolutely perfect… And I didn't do it so he would go away."

"Oh? Then why _did_ you do it?" chuckled Yang.

"I did it so I could have you all to myself," groaned Weiss as she leaned up to taste Yang's lips for a few more seconds.

"Weiss… That's kind of the same thing," Yang teased.

"Shut up, I know… It sounded better in my head," pouted Weiss as Yang giggled, "But, in my defense, I did look at his portfolio, and I truly am impressed by his previous works."

"You are so cute, you know that?" smiled Yang after a few seconds of silence, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't mind if you reminded me more often," grinned Weiss as she moved her face closer to Yang's.

"Ugh! You're just _so_ small! I'm not even exaggerating when I say I could hold you for hours," exclaimed Yang.

"What's wrong with being small?" asked Weiss, pulling her head back and raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing at all. It just makes it easier to do things like _this,_ " laughed Yang as she swept Weiss off her feet and proceeded to run around the dance hall with her in her arms.

"I will kill you if you drop me!" laughed Weiss as she held onto Yang for her life.

Eventually, Yang stopped running and was successful in not dropping Weiss.

Yang set Weiss down on her feet and laid on the ground, seemingly exhausted.

"That was fun," smiled Weiss as she laid down next to her girlfriend, "Carry me back to the dorms when we're done here?"

"Maybe someday," chuckled Yang.

It felt like hours passed by while the two girls examined the ceiling of the dance hall. The swirling designs were almost hypnotic.

Yang sat up and positioned her upper body over the heiress. She gazed into her captivating crystal blue eyes, content with burning the image into her mind.

Her gaze shifted to the scar over Weiss' left eye. Such a beautiful blemish. The brawler could not comprehend why Jacques Schnee would want to cover it up.

Yang lifted her hand and traced Weiss' scar with her knuckle, sending shivers through the heiress' body.

"The sun is going to set soon," said Yang, looking out a window, "We should start walking to the dorm now."

Weiss frowned and sat up, checking the window for herself, "Drat… We have to wait a whole week to do this again."

"True, but the weekend isn't over yet," said Yang, standing up and helping Weiss onto her feet, "We could do something in Vale? Like dinner or something. Oh, let's go to a rave! I know how much you _love_ raves," Yang joked.

Weiss turned to Yang and tilted her head slightly, "Okay. That sounds good to me."

Yang had a confused look on her face, "You're kidding, right?" she scoffed.

"No, I'm not kidding. I want to go to a rave with you," declared Weiss, keeping her chin high.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty disgusted by raves when I brought them up the first time," said Yang, cautiously.

"Well, it occurred to me that I have never actually _been_ to a rave before, so maybe I'll be surprised and actually have fun," shrugged Weiss. 

_And I'd do just about anything for a few more hours with you…_

She pulled out her scroll.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm calling your sister and telling her we're going to Vale," answered Weiss as she brought the scroll up to her ear.

" _Hey, Weiss! What's up?"_

"Hello, Ruby. I'm just calling to let you know that Yang and I will not be joining you for dinner tonight. She said she would take me to a rave in Vale."

" _No! You are going to come back to the dorm and attend the team meeting that is happening as soon as you two get here! Is that clear!?"_ demanded Ruby

"Uh, yes… We will be there shortly," said Weiss, more confused than threatened.

" _That's what I like to hear!"_

Ruby hung up without another word.

"What did she say?" asked Yang with a puzzled look on her face.

"She said we have a team meeting in the dorm room," said Weiss.

"You don't think they…" Yang trailed off.

"Know about us? I can't fathom how they would have found out. We have put a lot of effort into hiding this."

"She's probably just going to tell us we've got an assignment we have to do as a team or something," reasoned Yang.

"Perhaps, but there's only one way we can find out for sure," said Weiss, raising a finger as they left the dance hall. 

* * *

Weiss inspected her nails while sitting on the floor in the middle of the dorm room as Ruby paced back and forth, thinking about Oum knows what.

"Rubes, do we really have to sit on the floor for this? I feel like I'm back in elementary school," said Yang, who was sitting cross-legged next to Weiss.

"Yes! You do! I'm very upset with this team right now!" pouted Ruby as she crossed her arms.

"What about Blake? Why does _she_ get to sit on her bed?" asked Yang as she pointed her thumb at the amber-eyed girl.

"Because _Blake_ didn't do anything wrong. Blake never does anything wrong! Heck, I don't think Blake is even _capable_ of doing anything wrong!" cried Ruby as Blake blushed.

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Blake bashfully.

Weiss looked curiously at Yang, receiving a shrug from the girl in response.

"Okay, Ruby. What did we do to upset you?" asked Weiss, rolling her eyes.

Ruby took a deep breath as she started to pace again, "It's just that you and Yang have barely spent _any_ time with us for the past month and a half because of that stupid dance that you two have to plan. It doesn't help that we barely get any free time during the week because of classes and homework, either. There's no communication between us, and that is _not_ how teams should work!" vented Ruby as Weiss glanced at Yang, feeling a hint of guilt, "Which is why we will go to this rave together! As a team!"

Weiss' guilt was instantly substituted for surprise.

"Ruby, I don't think that's a good idea," said Yang, cautiously.

"Nonsense, Yang! We are all going to bond and have fun at a rave, and I don't want to hear another peep about it coming out of you!" shouted Ruby as she pointed a finger in Yang's face.

Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but Ruby did not let her.

"No peeps from you either, Weiss!" said Ruby as she put her finger on Weiss' lips.

Weiss slapped Ruby's hand away from her face, causing the young girl to yelp.

"I suppose there is no room for argument, then," said Weiss as she stood up from her seat on the ground, "So, where is this rave you're taking us to, Yang?"

"I was planning on taking you to a high-end rave near the docks, but I don't know if we should go to that one, anymore," explained Yang.

"Why not?" asked Weiss.

"Because we need to dress really nice to be allowed in. You need something that will show some skin. The bouncer there is chill but only lets you in if you're hot or if you're rich," said Yang as she stood up.

"It's a good thing I'm both of those things," smirked Weiss causing Yang to laugh.

"Wow, egotistical much?" Blake laughed.

"On a serious note, there should be no problem. We can all find some… Revealing clothing to wear. I wouldn't mind bribing the bouncer to let us in if he still denies us entry," said Weiss, ignoring Blake's comment.

"The problem is that Ruby doesn't have any clothes like that," said Yang, walking to a drawer.

"A trivial obstacle," declared Weiss, waving off Yang's statement, "Ruby and I are roughly the same size, so she can just wear some of my clothes. Or, we can go to Vale a little earlier and buy her some clothes for the occasion."

"I kind of already spent all of my allowance, and I don't want to make it a habit to let Weiss spend her money on me, so I might take some of Weiss' clothes. I'm just afraid I might damage them by accident," said Ruby, timidly.

"Who cares if you damage my clothes. I could easily buy a replacement if you somehow _do_ ruin them," said Weiss as she walked over to the closet, "I know _just_ the outfit for you."

After rummaging through the clothing for a few seconds, Weiss extracted a pair of black high heels and a black, low cut dress with a large bow on the back.

"Look, Yang. Do you think Ruby would look good in this?" asked Weiss as she spun Ruby around and held the dress in front of her.

"Oh, yeah. You're going to be turning heads tonight, Rubes. Just like your big sis," chuckled Yang as she pointed a thumb at herself.

"Can I _not_ wear those lady stilts though? I've only had bad experiences with them," shuttered Ruby.

"Come on, it's not _that_ bad. Everyone takes their heels off when they get into the rave, anyway," said Yang as she pushed Ruby into the bathroom, "Change and let me see you in that dress."

With the bathroom door shut and Ruby changing inside, Yang took out a gold, deep V neck dress and held it up to her body, "I'm definitely turning _someone's_ head tonight," Yang chuckled with a subtle wink at Weiss.

Weiss rolled her eyes, blushing slightly as she turned to find a dress for herself.

"Blake, do you need a dress too?" asked Weiss as she plucked a white, one-shoulder dress from the closet.

"No, I actually already have an outfit," said Blake as she stood up from her bed and lifted up a black, low cut blouse and a short skirt.

Weiss nodded as she slipped out of her bolero jacket and removed the grey pin from her hair. She still was not used to this new pin. Weiss made a mental note to order another Atlesian steel tiara.

"So… How do I look?" asked Ruby after a few minutes, clad in the Weiss' revealing, black dress and heels.

The rest of the room's occupants looked at Ruby and were all pleasantly surprised.

"Oh. My. Gods!" Yang gasped, looking up and down at Ruby, "Look at my little knockout!"

"Woah," whispered Blake, just loud enough for her team to hear as Ruby blushed.

"Ha! Ha! Careful, Sis. Looks like you caught Blake off guard," laughed Yang as she nudged Ruby and walked into the bathroom to get changed.

Now Ruby _and_ Blake were blushing as Weiss looked through her jewelry.

"I think these earrings would look good with that outfit," said the heiress as she lifted up a pair of small, silver hoop earrings and held them up to Ruby's ear, "Oh. Your ears aren't pierced?"

"I've never really been a fan of earrings," Ruby shrugged.

"That's fine, you look stunning without earrings, anyway," said Weiss, putting the earrings on herself, instead.

"Ruby, let's go wait outside so Weiss can change in the dorm," said Blake who was now in her chosen outfit.

"How did you—" Weiss began as Blake cut her off.

"You two were facing the other way so I just changed real quick," Blake said hastily as she practically ran out the door, "Come on, Ruby!"

"Coming, Blake!" said the younger girl, shutting the door as she walked into the hall.

"Curious…" Weiss whispered to herself before kicking her boots off and untying the back of her combat uniform.

Weiss was halfway into her dress when the bathroom door swung open, revealing Yang in her party clothes.

"Wow…" Weiss trailed off as she took in the sight before her.

By the looks of her, Yang had done something to her hair that made it far more voluminous and almost sparkly. Her dress did not leave much to the imagination, but Weiss would be lying if she said she was not a fan of it. She nearly fainted when she remembered this bombshell was her girlfriend.

"Oh my gosh!" Yang exclaimed, looking away from Weiss, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were naked!"

Weiss was confused for a moment before remembering what she was doing prior to Yang walking out of the bathroom.

"It's okay. I'm wearing a bra anyway. I'm not completely nude," said Weiss as she pulled her dress all the way up and slid her arm through its only sleeve.

Yang looked back at the heiress in her dress and watched as she put her hair up in an elegant low bun.

"Holy shhhh…" Yang began as Weiss giggled.

"That's what I was thinking when I saw you," whispered Weiss as she closed the distance between their bodies and kissed her girlfriend.

"You are so beautiful," Yang hummed as she smiled down at the heiress.

"So are you," Weiss smirked as she walked to the door and opened it, "Now, let's have some fun at a rave!"

* * *

"Okay, Sis. Just so you know, there _will_ be booze at this club, and I don't want to see you drinking _any_ of it. You understand?" said Yang as Team RWBY stood around, waiting in a line to enter the club.

"I know, Yang," said Ruby, tired of her sister's overprotective demands.

"Right, that one was obvious. Oh! If anyone gets handsy with you, remember, a kick right between the legs will usually take them out. That trick works on girls too, by the way. I know because I may or may not have experienced that before," Yang continued her rambling.

"Oh, look! We're at the front of the line!" yelled Ruby, thankful that her suffering was finally over.

Yang walked up to the bouncer and bumped his fist with her own.

"What's up Yang. I haven't seen you in a while," said the silver-haired man.

"I've been busy," sighed Yang.

"Who are your friends?" asked the bouncer.

"These are my teammates, Weiss and Blake, and _this_ is my sister, Ruby. Isn't she just _adorable,"_ said Yang as she pulled her blushing sister closer to her.

The bouncer shook his head, "I'm not falling into that trap, Yang."

"You're a smart guy, Merc. Are we good to go?" asked Yang with a chuckle.

"Yup, I'll catch you later, Yang," said the bouncer, turning to the next people in the line.

Yang opened the door and let her team walk in ahead of her, "Alright! Let's get this party started!"

Weiss shook her head and rolled her eyes, amused by Yang's excited attitude. She was immediately hit with loud, electronic music that blasted through the entire building. She felt her heart jumping inside her chest to mimic the beat of the song that was playing.

The whole area was dim with lights of different colors waving around the floor, walls, and ceiling. All the while, hundreds of people crowded in and around the middle of the floor, dancing and laughing and having the time of their lives. The air was cool from where she was standing, but Weiss could tell it was hot and smelled of sweat on the dance floor.

The heiress bit her cheek at the sight of people grinding on each other in the crowd and could not figure out if she was disgusted or confused.

Yang saw the looks on her friends' faces and stood in front of them.

"I know it looks kind of crazy right now. I had the same reaction when I first got into here. Just forget about all your problems and have fun," Yang attempted to reassure her team.

"Okay, Yang… I'll trust you on this," said Weiss.

"So… What do we do?" asked Blake.

"Whatever you want!" shouted Yang, "Come on! Let's dance!"

Without warning, Yang walked straight into the crowd, leaving her team guideless.

"Uh oh…" gulped Ruby, "Alright, team! Yang's gone, but we will stick together! Nobody gets left behind!" shouted Ruby as Weiss walked into the crowd, "Or you can just leave too, Weiss. That's cool."

"Do you want to sit at those tables over there?" asked Blake, pointing to a bar on the other side of the room.

"…Yeah…" said Ruby, dejectedly. 

* * *

Weiss brushed past person after person, anxiously searching for Yang in the crowd of people. She narrowly dodged someone's elbow.

 _Ugh, Yang! Why did you leave so suddenly?_

Weiss was beginning to wonder why she agreed to go to a rave in the first place. She saw nothing entertaining about this place and nothing worthwhile about the people here. She wanted to find Yang so that she did not feel completely lost.

"Yang!" Weiss called out, trying to project her voice over the loud music and cheers of the crowd.

Weiss was contemplating between traversing deeper into the crowd to find Yang and turning around to get back to Blake and Ruby when she felt a hand grab her arm.

The heiress yelped as she was pulled deeper into the crowd into the arms of Yang Xiao Long.

"Yang! Don't scare me like that!" shouted Weiss.

"Heh. Sorry, Babe," chuckled Yang, loud enough so only Weiss could hear as she began to move her body to the beat of the song that was playing, "Come on, Weiss! Dance!"

"I don't really want to dance," said Weiss, timidly.

Yang shook her head with a smirk as she brought her face closer to Weiss' ear, "Forget about your problems and dance with your girlfriend," she said before backing up even deeper into the crowd while beckoning for Weiss to join her with her forefinger.

Weiss thoughtlessly followed Yang's finger, almost hypnotized by it until they were in the center of the crowd. Like a hurricane's eye, it was surprisingly calm.

The heiress just watched as Yang moved her body like a goddess, hypnotizing her further.

Yang laughed at Weiss' obvious gawking, "You taught me how to ballroom dance, so let me return the favor and show you how do dance in a club. It's _way_ easier. Just shut off your mind, listen to the song, and do what your body wants to do."

Weiss did as she was told and found the beat of the song. She began to nod with the song, becoming familiar with it. She watched to see what Yang was doing and began to move her own body to compliment her movements.

At first, the heiress was stiff and rigid, but as her thoughts faded away, she began to move as Yang did. She was starting to see the appeal in these raves.

The loud music made it impossible to think and that made it impossible to focus on anything. She could not worry about anything.

Yang nodded as she cheered Weiss on, "Yeah! There you go!"

"I must admit: this is pretty fun!" laughed Weiss.

"I told you raves were fun! So, where are Rubes and Blake?" asked Yang.

"They didn't want to come into the crowd! They're probably still waiting by the entrance!" Weiss shouted over the music.

"Let's dance for a little while longer and then go find them!" offered Yang as Weiss nodded in agreement.

Weiss and Yang danced as they made their way back to the edge of the crowd. Eventually, they got out and stopped dancing.

"Where did they go?" asked Yang.

Weiss looked around for a black bow or a mop of black hair with red tips.

"There! I see them," said Weiss as she pointed at the bar.

"What are they doing at the bar? Ruby, I swear, if you are drinking I am going to kill you," said Yang to herself as she marched to the bar.

"Yang! Weiss! There you are! We thought you were lost to the crowd!" said Ruby as the two girls walked over to them.

"Ruby, why are you at the bar?" asked Yang, crossing her arms.

"I swear I'm not drinking! Blake was with me the whole time! She can back me up!" Shouted Ruby.

"It's true, she wasn't drinking," said Blake.

"Okay, so why _are_ you sitting at the bar, then?" Yang asked Ruby again.

"Me and Blake didn't want to go into the crowd, so we decided to sit down over here," explained Ruby, "I think I'm ready to go into the crowd now, though… As long as Weiss goes with me."

"Why me?" asked Weiss.

"Because you're my partner, but we never do anything together!" whined Ruby, "Come on! We can call it a partner bonding exercise!"

"Alright, Ruby. Let's go," sighed Weiss as she grabbed Ruby's hand and dragged her to the crowd.

"You kids have fun! I'll stay with Blake while you're in there," shouted Yang as she claimed Ruby's seat.

Weiss dragged Ruby a decent way into the crowd before letting go and facing the younger girl. She went through the steps of focusing on the music and forgetting about her problems and was dancing to the beat before she knew it.

After a few seconds, Weiss noticed Ruby was timidly looking around, trying to dance.

"Stop worrying about what other people think. What they think doesn't matter. Listen to the beat and let your body lead the way," said Weiss as she more or less relayed what Yang told her to Ruby.

Ruby nodded her head and closed her eyes as she did as Weiss instructed until she was moving to the beat like she was born to do so.

"Wow, Weiss. How did you know? I thought you hated raves," laughed Ruby.

"Your sister happens to be superb at getting me to do things I don't want to do at first," Weiss admitted, causing Ruby to laugh.

"Hey, guys," said another voice from behind them, "I decided to try dancing too."

Weiss turned around and saw Blake, "Oh, good! I'm going to get a drink of water. You can keep Ruby company," said Weiss as she pushed through the crowd.

The heiress made her way back to the table in hopes that Yang was still there. Thankfully, she was.

Weiss sat down across from her as Yang slid a cup of water over to her.

"How did you know I was thirsty?" asked Weiss as she gladly took the water and began to drink.

"I'm always thirsty after dancing in that mess. I figured you would be too," Yang chuckled as she took a sip of her own water, "So, are you having fun?"

"Yes, actually. But I don't see myself coming to these things regularly," said Weiss.

"That's fair. The club isn't for everyo—" 

"Hey, Angel. I haven't seen _you_ around here before," interrupted a man with scraggly hair.

"What are you talking about, I'm practically a regular here," said Yang, raising an eyebrow.

"Not you, Blondie. I'm talking to _her_ ," said the man as he pointed a finger at Weiss.

"I'm flattered but not interested," giggled Weiss as she watched Yang's face shift from an expression of mild annoyance to one of unbridled rage.

"Oh, come on, Honey. You haven't even listened to what I've got to say. One minute of your time is all I ask," said the man.

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the man, unsure whether or not he was drunk.

"If you insist," sighed Weiss as Yang growled impatiently.

"Thank you, kindly. My name is Shay, and I must say that you have beauty unlike any other cutie," said Shay.

"Oh? A rhyme! How quaint," said Weiss, sarcastically.

"Yeah, the ladies love that one. Anyway, what do you say we head back to my place, Angel?" continued Shay.

"Again, I'm flattered, but not interested," repeated Weiss.

"You know you want to~" sang Shay as Yang stood up from her seat.

"She said she wasn't interested, buddy," threatened Yang as she pushed the man away from their table and sat down again.

"Yang, there's no way you thought I couldn't handle that," said Weiss, resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Yeah," Yang sighed, "I just really didn't like the way he was talking to you."

"It's fine. I understand," giggled Weiss.

After a few minutes, Ruby and Blake returned, and Yang handed both of them a cup of water.

"You kids have fun?" asked Yang as she examined their exhausted faces.

"Yeah… But now I'm _so_ tired," answered Ruby.

"Soon enough, you'll be able to party all night like your big sis," boasted Yang as she pointed a thumb at her own chest.

"Yang," said Weiss as she stared at a group of people at another table.

"Yeah, Weiss?"

"Look," said the heiress as she nodded in the direction of the table she was checking out.

Yang glanced over Weiss' shoulder and saw a group of people acting crazy. They were obviously drunk, and upon closer inspection, they appeared to be doing some type of drugs as well.

"Is that allowed here?" asked Weiss.

"No… It's definitely not," said Yang as she stood from her seat, "I'm going to go tell the owner about those guys, and then we can head home, okay?"

Weiss nodded as Yang walked over to the bar.

"Hey, Junior," said Yang, leaning on the bar.

"Sup, Yang. Do you need another cup of water?" asked Junior.

"No. There are some guys over there doing drugs on the tables," said Yang as she pointed at the table in question.

"Dammit! Does anyone listen to my rules anymore? Thanks for telling me, Yang," said Junior as he beckoned for some of his crew to help him escort the drug users out of the establishment.

Yang walked back to her team.

"Alrighty. Now that _that's_ taken care of: are you guys ready to call it a night?" questioned Yang.

"Yeah…" yawned Ruby as Blake helped her towards the exit.

"Looks like _they're_ in a hurry," laughed Yang as she and Weiss followed them.

Yang smiled as she watched Blake support her exhausted sister. She could tell they were both tired from partying because they were both yawning. The brawler was surprised to find herself yawning as well.

Yang glanced over to Weiss and noticed her usually exemplary posture was failing slightly.

"Sleepy?" asked Yang as she nudged Weiss with her elbow.

"I would say I am more fatigued than sleepy," Weiss sighed.

"Is there a difference?" questioned Yang.

"Fatigue is like being tired from exerting yourself too much or from being ill. Sleepiness is simply feeling the need to go to sleep," Weiss explained as they reached the exit of the club.

"Hm, I didn't know that," said Yang.

As soon as Yang stepped out of the club, into the lamp-lit streets of Vale at night, and waved goodbye to the bouncer, she felt a wave of realization wash over her. The carefree atmosphere of the club was gone and not there to rid her mind of her worries.

Weiss was not sleepy because she physically could _not_ go to sleep. She had to rely on medication to get a decent night's rest.

Yang wondered how it must feel to constantly be fatigued like her girlfriend must be and pitied her.

Now she felt even worse.

She still had yet to confront Weiss about her knowledge of her medication.

A part of her wondered why Weiss had not told her about them yet, but she could not focus on that because she felt terrible about keeping this secret from her for so long.

The brawler felt a knot of anxious tension form in her stomach at the thought of confronting her about them. She had to tell her the truth. She could not hide this from her anymore.

Yang reasoned that the longer she held off telling Weiss, the angrier her girlfriend would be about her snooping around in her things.

Yang hoped Weiss would forgive her. She mentally kicked herself for waiting so long and decided she would make her confession tonight.

Thoughts and ramblings buzzed around Yang's mind as she came up with a plan of what to say in response to any way Weiss might react. Meanwhile, the knot in her stomach continued to grow and torment her.

When Yang saw the dorm building come into view after thinking straight through the airship ride back to Beacon, she refused to panic and mentally braced herself.

"Blake, I've got to talk to Weiss for a second in private. Could you take Ruby up to the dorm?" asked Yang as they neared the entrance to the dorm building.

"Sure thing, Yang," said Blake as she opened the door and led Ruby, who was practically sleeping on her, through.

"What is it, Yang?" asked Weiss, curiously.

Yang took a deep breath and decided to just say it.

"I know about your medication."

"You mean my vitamins," said Weiss after a split second of hesitation.

"No, Weiss," said Yang, shaking her head, "I know about your _sleeping_ medication."

Weiss' eyes widened slightly before she blinked and looked at her toes, "Oh…" was all she said.

Yang waited for the heiress to interrogate her, but Weiss just kept her eyes trained on the ground.

"Aren't you going to ask me _how_ I know?" asked Yang, keeping her feet planted where she was standing.

"Does it matter?" said Weiss dejectedly, "Now you know that I've been hiding something from you for all this time."

"It does matter. I… I went through your stuff," said Yang, carefully.

Weiss' eyes snapped to Yang's, "Why would you do that?" asked Weiss, a look of betrayal on her face.

Yang felt tears threaten to spill from her eyes when she saw the hurt look on Weiss' face, but she held them back.

"Well… When I first saw you take them out of your bag and you told me they were vitamins... I didn't believe you. I looked through your bag when you were asleep, and I found them," Yang explained.

Weiss' expression immediately shifted to one of relief, "Oh, I thought you meant you went through my belongings _recently_."

"No, but I still went through your things…" said Yang, hanging her head.

"Yang, you know we were not on the best of terms for the first few weeks of school. Remember when we talked in that café in Vale after you found out about my scar? We both forgave each other for all the terrible things we did."

Yang recalled the café Weiss was talking about, "You didn't know about what I did at the time though."

"It doesn't matter what you did in the past," said Weiss, shaking her head as she stepped closer to Yang, "I know you would never do something like that to me now. And, if it makes you feel any better… I forgive you for snooping through my things."

"Okay… Thank you," breathed Yang with relief, "So, why did you want to hide your medication?"

Weiss frowned, "It's sort of a long story, but to put it simply, I don't want people to pity me."

"Oh," said Yang, mentally facepalming for doing exactly that when they left the club.

"I've had trouble getting to sleep for a good portion of my life. Ever since my tenth birthday when my father admitted he only married my mother for the company. So much became clear that day… I realized my father never truly cared about anyone but himself. Not for my mother, not for my sister, and not for me… And I let that get to me," said Weiss as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"That's horrible…" said Yang, baffled by how anyone could be so heartless.

"Yeah…" Weiss trailed off as she hugged herself tighter and turned away from Yang.

"It _still_ gets to you, doesn't it?" asked Yang, quietly.

Weiss clamped her eyes shut and nodded.

How could anyone _not_ pity this girl? She has been denied love from her parents for her whole life and has suffered from being abandoned by those who get close to her. No wonder it was nearly impossible to break through her defenses: she built them from the ground up to prevent her from being crushed time and time again.

Yang searched the area for anyone who might be out and about at this time of night and saw no one.

"Come here," said Yang, softly as she embraced her girlfriend and held her, gently.

"You won't be neglected anymore," whispered Yang as Weiss began to weep into her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	16. The Schnee Heiress Part I

Weiss stood alone in complete darkness. She could hear whispers all around her but could find no one. The air was cool, and she felt chills pulse through her body.

"Yang!" she called out.

An echo called back, chilling the air further and making the heiress' teeth chatter.

"Ruby! Blake! Can anyone hear me?" she shouted.

Another echo sounded as the darkness changed and shifted. The dark nothingness molded itself into a familiar room. Large shelves full of books stood on the walls and at the end of the room was a large desk that sat in front of a magnificent portrait of its owner.

The room made her uneasy, as it always had when she was younger.

Weiss stepped forward but pulled her foot back when the room began to grow, making her feel smaller. She turned around and reached up for the door handle; not wanting to be in this horrible room any longer.

"Weiss."

The heiress froze at the sound of her name being called from behind her. A voice she had not heard in years; one that made her so unbelievably calm.

She turned around to find her older sister, Winter Schnee, looking down on her with a soft expression and a stoic posture.

"Could you please listen for a few minutes? I promise we can do whatever you please afterward," said Winter, holding out a hand for Weiss.

Weiss instantly brought her hand up to put in Winter's but stopped when she noticed something off about it.

She looked at her hands and then her toes. She was no longer wearing her combat uniform. Now, the heiress wore a dress that she remembered from her youth.

"Please, Weiss?" begged Winter as she reached out further for her sister.

Not wanting to keep her sister waiting any longer, Weiss placed her hand in Winter's.

Winter directed for Weiss to sit on a sofa before letting go of her sister's hand and standing with her arms folded behind her back next to a tall, infamous man and a woman with golden eyes.

"Weiss," said the man, "This is Dr. Cinder Fall. She will be your personal physician and caretaker from now on."

"Hello, Miss Schnee. It's nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you," smiled Cinder, holding out her hand for the little girl to shake.

Weiss froze, ignoring the woman's hand and staring blankly at the man: her father, Jacques Schnee.

"Weiss, have you forgotten your manners? Someone is trying to make your acquaintance," growled Jacques, making Weiss whimper.

She gripped Cinder's hand in her smaller one and shook it timidly as Winter shot a dirty look at her Father.

"Dr. Fall graduated top of her class, has already completed residency and obtained medical licenses from all four kingdoms, all at the astoundingly young age of twenty-six. Therefore, you may rest assured knowing that your father hired the best for his little girl," said Jacques as he slicked back his dark, black hair.

"Why can't Winter be my personal physician?" asked Weiss without thinking.

Jacques looked insulted by Weiss' question. He opened his mouth to scold her but was stopped by Winter holding up her hand.

"I am not a trained physician, Weiss. I would not know what to do if you were to become sick. I have faith you will like Dr. Fall. I had the pleasure of speaking with her before I brought you here, and I must say, I agree wholeheartedly that she is the best person to take care of you," she said.

Weiss glanced at the doctor, receiving a happy smile, and nodded shyly at Winter.

"That's my girl," said Jacques as a cold gust of wind blew through the room.

Once again, Weiss' teeth chattered as she hugged herself for warmth. The other people and the room they were in were whisked away with the wind, leaving the heiress alone again in the darkness.

"Winter!" screeched the little heiress as she dropped down from her seat on the sofa.

Weiss looked around her. Her sister was nowhere to be found and the sofa was now gone too.

"Don't leave me!" cried Weiss, receiving a mocking echo in return.

Weiss began to run through the emptiness, tears welling in her eyes.

"Please!" the little heiress sobbed as she spotted a familiar bed in the distance.

She wiped her face with the palm of her hand, running towards the bed. She wasted no time climbing into it, basking in the warmth of her bedsheets, and pulling them over her head. She just wanted the darkness to go away.

The little heiress sobbed and cried until she heard what sounded like a door being opened and footsteps enter a room.

Weiss felt fear rising inside of her, telling her to run, but she refused to move; terrified of facing her intruder.

"Weiss."

Weiss hastily tore the sheets off herself at that wonderful voice calling her name.

"Winter…" she whined as she continued to cry, a growing pain pulsing through the right side of her face.

Winter sat on Weiss' bed and hugged the little girl, "You must forgive Father. He only wishes to shape you into the best person you can be…"

"H-he hit me," whimpered Weiss as memories were forced into her mind.

"He did. You… Must forgive him for that too," said Winter, sadly.

Weiss hugged her sister tightly and continued to weep.

"You are extraordinarily brave for saying what you did to Father. You saw something you thought was wrong, and you told him exactly how you felt," said Winter.

"I had to say something… That manservant needed more money so he could get food for his daughter, and Father wouldn't give him any more," whispered Weiss.

"I know it is… _Unfortunate_ that Father would deny that manservant a raise, but you must understand that he did that because he believes in a cause."

"What cause?" asked Weiss, a childish gleam in her eye, as Winter wiped the remnants of her tears away.

"Every day, Father works very hard to make sure everyone on Remnant receives a share of dust by running his company. I know it might be hard to understand, but Father could not give extra money to that manservant because it would've _hurt_ this cause," Winter answered.

Weiss thought about what Winter was saying to her and opened her mouth to ask another question, but Winter spoke first.

"How about we practice using your semblance, Sister?" asked Winter, changing the subject.

Weiss' face lit up, "Yes! I want to practice!" she said excitedly.

Winter smiled warmly, "Alright, stand up! I want you working hard," she said as she stood up stoically with her arms folded behind her back.

Weiss jovially complied, mirroring her sister's posture and awaiting instructions.

Winter smiled at her little sister. She brought her right hand in front of herself and created a small glyph in the palm of her hand, "Do as I do," she said.

The little heiress nodded eagerly as she held up her left hand and concentrated on her aura. Sure enough, a noticeably smaller glyph formed in her palm as she giggled in delight.

"Oh? It would seem you have been practicing. That was much faster than last time," said Winter with a raised eyebrow, "Now I want to see you do _this."_

The older sister made the glyph in her hand shrink until it no longer existed before bringing up her right hand and pointing at the ground beside her with two fingers.

Weiss watched intently as a platform glyph formed a foot above the ground, staring in awe as she watched her sister step onto it.

"Winter, I can't do that!" whined Weiss.

"Don't be ridiculous. You have yet to try it," said Winter, furrowing her brows, "I said I wanted you to work hard, not give up before you have even started."

Weiss stood up straight and looked at her sister, a sense of tenacity growing within her, "Of course!"

The little heiress quickly raised her left hand and pointed at the ground with two fingers as Winter watched intently from her raised position.

After a second, a platform glyph formed above the ground. It was unstable for a moment, growing and shrinking uncontrollably until Weiss managed to keep it steady.

Weiss breathed deeply as she lifted her small foot and placed it on her glyph. She hesitated to lift her other foot off the ground for fear of her glyph failing and sending her scrambling to the floor.

"What stays your other foot, Sister?" asked Winter, already knowing the answer.

"I… Don't want to fall," said the little heiress, refusing to look Winter in the eye.

"So what if you fall? Will your dreams be crushed and your hopes, lost?" questioned Winter as she raised her eyebrow again.

"N-no."

"So…" said Winter, gesturing to the glyph that supported her sister's foot.

Weiss looked at her glyph again. It looked fairly stable, so maybe it would hold her weight as Winter's did.

Not wanting to keep her sister waiting any longer, Weiss forced herself to lift her other foot and placed it on the glyph. She stood there, frightened by the possibility of the glyph failing, yet excited by the fact that she was standing on a glyph that she had created out of seemingly nothing.

"Winter, look!" cried the little heiress as a smile of pure joy spread across her face.

The elder sister could not help but smile, "I see it, Sister," she chuckled.

Weiss looked up at her sister, who was nodding her head in approval and began to laugh.

The glyph under her feet was wavering slightly but appeared to be holding until it gave way and disappeared.

The little heiress shrieked as she was caught off balance and landed on her rear.

Weiss sat on the ground, avoiding her sister's gaze as tears welled in her eyes, "I'll never be as good as you…" she sniffled.

"That has got to be the most farcical sentence I have ever heard you mutter," said Winter as she stepped off her glyph and stood over her sister.

"But it's true…" said Weiss as she kept her eyes trained on the ground.

"I will not stand here and watch my sister mope. Look at me when I am talking to you," Winter ordered. Weiss looked up at Winter as she continued, "Realize that you are still a child, Weiss. You are currently seven years old, and I am seven years older than you. You have the entirety of your life to hone your skills and master your semblance. Not to mention you began training in the use of your semblance far earlier than I did. By the time you are my age, I fully expect you to be _more_ adept than I am."

The little heiress stared at her sister with wonder in her eyes as Winter offered a hand to her.

After being pulled to her feet, Weiss wrapped her arms around Winter's body in a hug, "Thank you…" she said.

Winter placed her hands on Weiss' back as she sighed deeply, "It's getting late. You must go to sleep now."

"Could we practice a little longer? Please?" begged Weiss.

"I'm afraid not, Sister. You must rest so you can wake up early for your first checkup with Dr. Fall. She told me she was coming early in the morning tomorrow," explained Winter.

"Drat…" the little heiress pouted as Winter tucked her in for the night.

Winter made her way to the door to Weiss' room and opened it, "Sleep well, Sister," she said as she turned the light off and closed the door on her way out.

Weiss closed her eyes and tried to let sleep take her, but she only felt cold again. The sheets seemed to do nothing to warm her.

The darkness shifted again while the little heiress kept her eyes firmly closed. She felt drowsiness build within her as the cold faded and turned warm.

It was quiet.

Weiss' eyes shot open as shattered glass clinked and clanked onto the cold, tiled floor of her room.

She stared into the blood-red eyes of a monster who had invaded her room while she slept, frozen with fear and trembling as the cold night air drifted in through her broken window.

There were loud noises in the distance, momentarily engendering his attention.

The dark creature cackled at the sounds. Muffled cracks and bangs echoed through the halls and into the rooms.

"Your time has come, Schnee…" said the monster, raising his bloodied dagger to slaughter his prey.

The little heiress wanted to scream, but could not. She could only whimper as she pulled her sheets up to her nose in a vain attempt to save her doomed soul.

She watched the monster's dark figure move closer to her as the moonlight revealed his horned silhouette.

The monster lumbered towards the little girl who was shaking in her bed.

The girl began to cry as the monster continued to cackle, clearly enjoying the thought of eviscerating her where she lay.

The monster stood by her bedside as the little heiress clamped her eyes shut, not wanting to watch her death come to her.

But death did not come.

Instead, the breeze continued to chill her bones and the loud cackling only grew louder.

The little heiress flinched at the sound of a deafening pop at the other side of the room, and suddenly, the loud cackling shifted into quiet gurgling.

Something hit the ground.

"Weiss!?" shouted a voice.

Weiss slowly opened her eyes; tears continuing to roll down her face.

The monster was gone, but the loud noises were still there and no longer muffled. She noticed a light coming from the other side of the room and slowly sat up, letting the bedsheets pile at her waist.

"Oh, thank Oum!" said the voice as its owner ran up to and hugged the little heiress.

Weiss could not see clearly through her tear-filled eyes but still recognized the voice to be Winter's. She couldn't do anything besides cry in her embrace.

After a few seconds, Winter let go of her sister and looked her up and down, "Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No…" sniffled Weiss as she attempted to look behind herself for any sign of the monster.

"Don't look over there, Weiss," said Winter as she turned Weiss' face back to look at her, "We need to leave. Now."

"What's going on, Winter?" asked the little heiress as Winter helped her down from her bed.

"Remember when I told you about Father's cause when you were seven?" asked Winter as Weiss nodded, "Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with his cause. Some people have come here to… Stop Father from doing his work."

"Who?" asked Weiss as Winter grabbed the pistol she had set on Weiss' bedside table before she hugged her.

Winter walked over to the door and peeked outside, biting her lip, "The White Fang," she said as she walked back over to Weiss, "Hold onto my hand and don't let go no matter what. Do you understand me?"

Weiss grabbed Winter's hand, "Winter, I'm scared," she whimpered.

"I know, Sister. I am too, but we cannot stay here any longer. It's too dangerous. We need to get to the library so we can escape," Winter explained as she led Weiss to the door.

Weiss curiously looked back at her bed and saw a faunus man with ram horns on his head lying on the ground with blood leaking out of his mouth and his hand clamped over his throat. She no longer saw a monster with blood-red eyes. Now, she simply saw a dead man.

"Weiss, close your eyes, okay?" said Winter, peeking out the door again.

"Why?" asked Weiss, naively, as she looked back to her sister.

"Please, just listen to me," said Winter as she looked her sister in the eye again.

Weiss nodded and closed her eyes, tightly.

Winter opened the door and led the little heiress down the halls.

The carpet felt warm and wet under Weiss' bare feet. She grimaced at the feeling but did not dare to open her eyes.

After traversing the halls, loud with weapon's fire, Weiss heard Winter gasp and push her against a wall.

Weiss flinched at the sound of Winter firing her own weapon and heard some grunts and shouts coming from around the corner of what Weiss assumed was the end of the hall.

"Over here! I found her! AGH!" shouted a man from around the corner as another blast from Winter's pistol shook the hall.

"Damn!" whispered Winter under her breath as she took cover and turned to Weiss, "Stay here and don't make a sound."

Weiss whimpered as Winter let go of her hand and unsheathed her sword before running around the corner.

The little heiress sat against the wall, hugging her legs to her chest as she heard scream after scream from around the corner until she could not bear to keep her eyes shut anymore.

Weiss opened her eyes and peeked around the corner. Winter moved faster than Weiss could track her with her eyes.

The floor was quickly littered with bodies as her sister made short work of the faunus with her saber.

Weiss retreated behind the corner, not wanting to watch the carnage that was taking place. She gasped as she looked down the hall they had just walked through, clamping her hands over her mouth.

Dozens of bodies were scattered throughout the hall. The carpet was stained red, and Weiss almost threw up when she realized her feet were stained red as well.

Tears returned to her eyes as she recognized the faces of manservants and maids that she knew by name and some security guards that she usually saw walking about the manor. There were also some of the faunus that wore masks that made them look like a Grimm.

The little heiress heard a beeping noise coming from just behind her. Her head shot straight to the sound where she found a small, round object that had a blinking red light on it.

"WEISS!" shrieked Winter as she dashed between her and the object and formed a glyph in front of them both.

There was a flash of light. It was quiet, and Weiss' ears were ringing.

Then it was dark again.

The cold had returned, and the whispers continued to torment her.

The little heiress looked around herself, "Why does this keep happening?" she said through clenched teeth.

She took one step forward and blinked as a new room formed around her and several people formed within it.

"Damn those faunus mongrels!" shouted Jacques Schnee, slamming his fist on a table, "They dare attack me in my own damn home! We should have been completely safe here, James! Why is it that your soldiers didn't arrive until half of my staff were already dead!"

Weiss began to cry again, earning her a glare from her father.

"You need to get a grip, Jacques. There was no way we could have seen this coming, and it takes time to move troops," said General Ironwood of the Atlesian military.

"You call yourself a protector, yet you do nothing but waste my time and resources! I've invested a lot of money in your army, James, so I expect you to do as you've promised!" shouted Jacques.

"Father, you must understand that this was a surprise attack. Obviously, General Ironwood would have already placed troops here had we seen this coming," said Winter as she made her presence in the room clear.

"And what about you, my daughter? You were already in the manor at the time of the attack, yet you could not save anyone!" sheered Jacques, "It would seem your training was a waste of my time as well!"

"Jacques!" boomed Ironwood's voice as he stepped in front of the CEO, "Do you realize my men found Winter holding her ground against _dozens_ of White Fang troops in defense of Weiss? Winter _saved_ one of your children. I don't think you are in a place to say Winter's training has been useless."

Jacques grunted as he pointed a finger in Ironwood's face, "I don't want to hear another word from you unless it's to tell me I can return home," he said as he turned his back and walked away, "I'm tired of waiting around in this damn bunker."

General Ironwood sighed as he turned to Winter, who was comforting Weiss, "Miss Schnee," he said, getting Winter's attention as she stood up to face him, "You fought admirably today. You fight for what matters to you, and that is truly something to behold. Know that you have a place at Atlas Academy if you wish to further your career as a huntress."

"Thank you, General, but I'll need time to think this over if that is alright," said Winter as she glanced at the sniffling little heiress.

"Of course," nodded the general as he turned to check on Weiss' mother and little brother who were both sitting in another corner of the bunker.

Winter walked back to Weiss and sat next to her, "Are you alright, Sister?" she asked.

"I think I will be after all this is over," admitted Weiss.

"You were brave for a nine-year-old," chuckled Winter, shaking her head, "I can't wait to see all the good you do when you are older…"

The darkness consumed the room, leaving only Weiss and Winter sitting there.

"Winter! What is this place?" asked Weiss as she clung to her older sister.

There was no response.

"Winter?" asked Weiss as she looked up to see Winter frozen in place.

She waved her hand in front of Winter's face, but she did not move.

All of the other times she was transported to this endless void, it was cold, but now it was warm. Winter provided warmth, and Weiss was thankful that she was not alone this time.

The little heiress was content with sitting beside her sister, even though she was inert.

Soon, the darkness changed again. It was different this time. Instead of changing into a cramped room, the darkness turned into a fog and lifted away from the ground, revealing a park with trees of red, brown, and orange, scattering leaves around the area.

Weiss watched some birds fly overhead as a pleasant, cool breeze blew onto her skin.

She recognized the comfortable, Atlesian, autumn atmosphere.

The little heiress looked down at herself and realized she was now wearing appropriate clothing for this cool weather.

Opting to ignore the strange occurrences at this point, the little girl leaned on her immobile sister's shoulder, basking in the pure bliss she was feeling with a contented sigh.

"Do you wish to see something cool?" asked Winter, suddenly animate once again.

"Sure," said Weiss as if they had been talking for hours at this point.

Winter brought up the hand that Weiss was not snuggling with and formed a small glyph in the palm of her hand.

Weiss watched intently as a small, glowing white butterfly crawled out of it and began to flutter around.

The little heiress gasped in astonishment, staring at the butterfly as it flew a little too far and faded away.

"Aw," pouted Weiss as she let go of Winter's arm, "Could you do it again, Sister?"

Winter smiled as she put her hand down and formed a glyph on the ground next to the park bench they were sitting on.

There was a small flash of light as a white beowolf appeared out of nowhere.

Weiss' eyes widened with fright at the sight of the terrifying creature, ready to scream.

"Wait! Don't be afraid," said Winter before things got out of hand, "Look," Winter held out her hand and smirked as the large creature rested its head in it, "It's practically a lapdog now," she chuckled as she petted its bony head, "Do you wish to pet it?"

The little heiress watched the creature timidly before nodding her head.

Winter delicately grabbed Weiss' hand and placed it on the beowolf's head.

Weiss flinched at the cold feeling of the creature, "What did you do to it?" she asked.

"This is another aspect of our semblance, dear Sister. It's called a summon," Winter answered.

"I want to learn how to do this next," said the little heiress, still amazed by the creature in front of her.

"I'm afraid this power is too advanced for you at the moment, but in due time, you will master your summoning with training," said Winter before the smile fell from her face, "Which brings me to why I brought you here in the first place…"

"It's not because you wanted to show me your summons?" asked Weiss.

"I'm afraid not," said Winter, glumly, as the beowolf faded away in Weiss' hands, "I brought you out here to tell you… That I'm leaving, Weiss."

Weiss stared at her older sister in disbelief, "…What?"

"General Ironwood generously offered me a place in his academy, and I can't pass up this opportunity," said Winter, for once unable to look her sister in the eye.

Weiss thought about what Winter was telling her for a moment before understanding the gravity of the situation, "W-Winter, you can't leave me here with _him_! You can't!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to. I can't stay here any longer," said Winter, shaking her head.

"Please! You can't leave me alone! I can't do this without you!" cried the little heiress as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Yes, you can!" shouted Winter before quieting her voice again, "And you are not alone… You have Whitley. I protected you from Father, and now it's time for you to do the same for our brother."

Weiss sniffled as she shook her head, "Please…" she begged one last time.

"I need you to promise me something," said Winter as she held Weiss by her shoulders.

Weiss looked up to her sister and nodded.

"Promise me you won't turn into our Father. You have so many qualities that make you a wonderful person, and you cannot let him snuff out that burning fire within you," said Winter sternly, "I know you will make the company the best it can be when you take it back from him."

Weiss was confused, "I thought _you_ were going to take over the company?" she said through sniffles.

"I'm giving that up as a condition of attending Atlas Academy. Now _you_ are the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, dear Sister."

"I can't! That's your honor, not mine!" shouted Weiss.

"Not anymore," said Winter as she hugged Weiss, "Please, I just need to hear you say you promise."

Weiss shut her eyes tightly, "I p-promise," she said through her wails.

There was no response from her sister.

Weiss opened her eyes and saw that damned darkness again. Tired of her suffering, the little heiress got off the bench and did not even bat an eye when it faded away.

She waited for the darkness to mold her next memory around her and sighed when it finally did.

Weiss was in the dining room, seated in front of a birthday cake with her brother and mother, Willow, as the latter tapped her foot impatiently.

"Mother, when will Father get here?" asked Whitley.

"I am unsure, dear, but I think it's unacceptable that he is two hours late," she said bitterly.

Weiss was disappointed that her father had seemingly forgotten about her, but she was even more disappointed with the fact that this was her first birthday where Winter was not present.

Winter had been on the little heiress' mind a lot more ever since she left to join the Atlesian military.

The little heiress sighed as she looked at her toes, dangling slightly from the chair she was sitting in.

Soon, the door to the dining room swung open and Jacques Schnee walked inside.

Weiss looked up and smiled slightly at the sight of her father. He did remember her birthday after all. Maybe he did care.

"Alright, I'm here. Let's get this over with," said Jacques as he pulled out a chair to sit in.

"Do you realize you are _two_ hours late for your own daughter's birthday party? What could you have been doing in your study that could not wait maybe fifteen minutes for you to be here for your family?" scolded Willow as she stood from her seat.

"Excuse me for having a multi-billion lien company to run," Jacques said sarcastically as he narrowed his eyes at his wife.

"It's always the company! This family has barely been functional for the last three years because of the company!" shouted Willow, "It's time for you to set your priorities straight, Jacques!"

"Could you please stop arguing?" asked the little heiress in a whisper, destined to fall on deaf ears.

"My priorities are exactly where I want them to be, woman!" boomed Jacques.

"What is that supposed to mean, exactly?" yelled Willow as she shook her head in disbelief.

"It means my company is and has always been my top priority. Not you or the children," Jacques sneered, "I only _married_ you for the company."

Weiss watched the expression on her mother's face change from one of anger to one of shock as the woman clutched at her surely broken heart and slumped back down into her chair.

The little heiress felt the sting of tears in her eyes again but knew better than to cry.

"What a colossal waste of my time," said Jacques as he walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

The door sent cracks through the walls and made them shatter like glass, where the darkness revealed itself after each shard fell away.

Weiss looked at her hands and realized she was her full height once again.

She closed her eyes as she felt an unrelenting rage pump through her veins, "Why are you doing this to me!? Why are you making me relive the worst parts of my life!?"

"Weiss," called a voice from behind her.

"Father!" she shouted, "You can see me?"

Jacques raised an eyebrow as he walked through the emptiness towards her, "It would seem you need _these_ more than I realized," he said as he handed Weiss a small bottle.

Weiss instantly recognized them as her sleeping pills, "For my insomnia?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Indeed," Jacques said, his voice echoing through the void, "Dr. Fall said your treatment options were between those pills and therapy. Naturally, the pills would be far easier to keep covered up from the press. Far more… Discreet than therapy."

"Why would you make me use these damn things…" said Weiss as she looked up from the pills in her hands, only to realize that her father was gone and now a mirror was in his place.

Weiss walked up to the mirror and inspected her face. Her scar was not there.

" _You won't be neglected anymore,"_ echoed a voice from behind her.

"Yang!?" shouted Weiss as she turned around.

Yang smiled at the heiress from the darkness, a shining beacon of light, as she held her arms wide open.

Weiss took off sprinting to her girlfriend, wanting nothing more than to be in her embrace. She rushed into her arms but pushed through her girlfriend as she stumbled on the other side of where Yang stood. The heiress turned back to where Yang was standing to see embers of light burning out.

Out of the pile of ashes where Yang stood just seconds ago, a knight arose and readied its sword to strike at the heiress.

Weiss' eyes went wide as she recognized the Arma Gigas from her entrance exam to Beacon. She raised Myrtenaster which had suddenly appeared in her hand.

The knight swung its sword.

Weiss could not move.

* * *

Weiss' eyes opened with a gasp as she shot up from her bed far too quickly than she should have, slamming her forehead on the bottom of Ruby's bunk.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" repeated Weiss in a hushed voice as she covered her face with her hands.

As the painful tingling sensation in her forehead faded away, Weiss dragged her hands down her face and checked the time. She had three more hours before she would normally wake up. She sighed.

_There's no way I'm going to sleep after that. Now without taking more pills, and I can't do that._

The heiress threw the sheets off herself and slipped her feet into a pair of Ruby's slippers before opening the dorm room door and quietly exiting, careful not to wake up her team.

"I guess I'll just go get some coffee," Weiss said to herself as she started for the dorm's café.

Weiss walked through the quiet, empty halls, thinking about what just happened to her. She hugged herself, feeling cold in her nightgown. 

_What a terrible nightmare._

The heiress decided to use that term loosely because most of the dream she had were old memories that her mind had forced her to relive.

_Stupid brain… Why would you put me through that? Haven't I suffered enough?_

She entered the small café lounge and lazily made her way to a coffeemaker, as there was no one working at the counter, and waved her scroll in front of it to pay for a cup. After the machine finished pouring coffee into a large cup, Weiss placed a cap on it and turned around to find Yang sitting at the only table in the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

Weiss had to do a double-take, "Yang? What are you doing up so early?" she asked.

"I just had a feeling you could use a little company, so I followed you down here," said Yang with a smirk, gesturing for Weiss to sit across from her, "And… You kind of woke everyone up when you slammed your head into Ruby's bed."

Weiss looked up from her coffee, blushing, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—" 

"Don't worry about it," Yang waved her hand, "Unlike you, _they_ can go back to sleep."

"What about you? Couldn't you fall back to sleep?"

Yang shook her head, "Not after what Blake told me. She said you woke her up even earlier because you were whispering names in your sleep."

"She heard me whispering names?" asked Weiss, wrapping her fingers around her coffee to warm them.

"Yeah. I swear, Blake has super hearing or something," Yang chuckled, "She said you were saying all of our names _and_ your sister's name."

Weiss bit her lip and looked at her cup, saying nothing.

Yang waited patiently for Weiss to speak before realizing she would have to work harder to get Weiss to open up to her, "Hey, what do you say we head back to the dorm and get changed so we can go for a walk through the forest? Just the two of us," she offered.

Weiss looked at Yang and nodded, "That sounds pleasant, actually," she said, looking forward to spending some more time with her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	17. Ladybugs on a Leaf

Ruby cheerfully skipped out of the bathroom, dressed in her red cloak and ready to conduct a plethora of team bonding exercises.

"Alright, team! It's time for some…" Ruby trailed off as she realized half of her team was nowhere to be found, "Yang and Weiss _still_ aren't back yet?"

"It would appear so, yes," smiled Blake as she looked up from her book.

"I hope Weiss is okay. I remember when I used to get really bad nightmares when I was younger and let me tell you: they are _not_ fun. Yang was really good at making me feel better though," said Ruby.

"It's a good thing Yang is with Weiss, then."

"Yeah," Ruby groaned as she flopped down onto Weiss' neatly made bed, staring at the bottom of her own bed as she let her feet dangle off the edge, "I guess we can wait a little longer for them to get back from wherever they went..."

"At least we got to do something as a team yesterday," Blake said, trying to cheer up the younger girl.

"I guess that's the most we can expect from them nowadays. Ever since Yang found out about Weiss' scar they have basically been inseparable! They are, like, total besties!" Ruby whined.

"It's hard to believe they _hated_ each other at first," Blake said, nodding in agreement, "Looks like Yang was the one to melt the Ice Queen's icy exterior."

"I know, right? It's _so_ weird! Have you noticed that Weiss hasn't yelled at any of us in _months?_ And she's a lot less sarcastic and talks to us more and—"

"I get it, Ruby," giggled Blake, "And I do concur. It's like Weiss is a completely different person now that her secret is out, and I find it strange that Yang was the one to bring that person out."

"How so?" asked Ruby, sitting upright.

"Just look at them. They are complete and total opposites, yet they seem to get along the best out of all of us," Blake explained.

"Well, you know what they say: opposites attract!" cheered Ruby with an adorable smile, "And honestly, I don't think they're coming back anytime soon," she said as the adorable expression turned into an annoyed one.

"That's okay," said Blake, looking down at her book with a small blush, "I've gotten kind of used to hanging out with you alone anyway."

"Aw, geez. Thanks, Blake," Ruby blushed in return, "I like hanging out with you, too."

Ruby stood from Weiss' bed, flattening the wrinkled sheets as best as she could before she gasped as an idea popped into her head.

"Blake! I know what we can do! Let's go to Vale like Weiss and Yang always do. They always find something there to keep them busy for the whole day, so I'm sure we could too!" Ruby offered, excitedly.

"Actually, Ruby, I think I'd rather read this book if you don't mind," said Blake, tilting her head at Ruby.

Ruby's shoulders slumped forward as she pouted, "Fine…" she said as she trudged back to her bed before spinning around and doing a belly flop onto Blake's bed with a book of her own in hand, "I'll just read with you!"

Blake yelped as she was nearly thrown off her bed but smiled as she saw Ruby sitting against the bedpost, reading intently.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head at the red girl, Blake returned to reading her book.

Together, they sat on Blake's bed for an hour, but Ruby did not read a single word in her book. She was enjoying the view she had of the amber-eyed beauty in front of her.

Sometimes, Blake would look up at her, sensing a pair of silver orbs on her, but Ruby would look back at her book so quickly that Blake would not notice she had been staring. At least she thought her head moved that quickly.

Ruby quickly picked up on a few things Blake did while reading. She could always tell exactly what kind of text she was reading by tracking her eyes and face.

If Blake was reading something wholesome or happy, she would have a small smile on her face the whole time. If Blake was reading something suspenseful and dramatic, her amber eyes would track the words on the page hastily, looking back and forth until she had to turn the page. Ruby adored it the most when Blake was reading something sad, however. The way Blake's lips pursed and her eyebrows would scrunch together, making it seem like she would burst into tears at any moment.

It was so beautiful.

Amber eyes met gleaming silver as Ruby continued to stare at Blake's face, despite Blake looking right back at her.

"Is there something you want to say, Ruby?" asked Blake with a small smile.

"No…" said Ruby, staring at Blake for a second longer and looking down at her book again.

Ruby was thankful for having Blake—as well as the rest of her team—as friends. She was content with watching her read all day. She could not think of something that she did not like about Blake if she wanted to.

Blake was smart, pretty, and so easy to spot in a crowd, despite wearing all black for the most part. She especially thought the bow on her head was cute.

"Hey, Blake?" asked Ruby, staring at the black ribbon.

"Yes, Ruby?" said Blake, still reading her book.

"Have you always liked wearing a bow on your head?"

Blake flinched ever so slightly before answering, "No, I used to never wear this bow."

"Oh, so you just tried it out one day and thought it looked cute?" asked Ruby, tilting her head.

"No… That's not quite it, either."

"If you don't think it's cute, then why do you wear it?"

Blake sighed as she snapped her book shut and set it on the bedside table.

"If you don't want to talk about it that's totally fine with me," added Ruby, hastily.

"No, it's okay. I knew you were going to ask me that question sooner or later," said Blake as she took a deep breath and steeled herself, "Ruby… I am a faunus."

Ruby looked at Blake, confusion obvious on her face, and burst into a fit of laughter, "Blake, that's crazy! You're crazy!" she giggled as Blake removed her ribbon to reveal two, furry, little cat ears, "…Oh my gods…"

"Ruby, I'm sorry I had to hide them from you but—"

"They're _so_ cute!" squealed Ruby before her face turned dead serious, "Why did you hide them for so long, Blake?"

"Because I was also… A member of the White Fang," Blake explained as Ruby's eyes widened in shock, "But not anymore! I used to believe in what they were doing, but not anymore, Ruby! I'm a different person now! Please believe me!"

Blake was holding her breath, waiting for what Ruby would say next. She looked like she hoped to Oum that Ruby would accept her.

"Oh, Blake…" sighed Ruby as she scooched closer and reached up to touch Blake's ears before stopping herself, "Can I...?"

Blake nodded her head, still holding her breath.

Ruby let her fingers gently feel Blake's soft ears and smiled, "Blake, for the whole time I've known you so far, I always thought you were… Complicated. I knew you would have your fair share of secrets, and I understand why someone would want to keep those secrets. Just look at Weiss: she hid her scar from everyone because she was afraid people would see her differently. I see the same situation here. You don't want people to see you as a former member of the White Fang before they see Blake Belladonna. I… Want you to know that I see you as a person I care about, Blake Belladonna, bow or not."

A fragile smile crept onto Blake's face.

"Thank you!" cried Blake as she threw her arms around Ruby's neck.

Blake was so happy. Her head was fluttering with butterflies as she breathed in the scent of strawberries on Ruby's cloak. She moved while her mind was in another dimension, pressing her lips onto the younger girl's.

Ruby's eyes instantly fluttered closed, feeling her heart beat the hardest it ever had in her life as she wrapped her arms around Blake who was currently kissing her passionately.

As quickly as the kiss began, it ended and Blake pulled away with a bright red blush on her face, "Oh my gods! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!" said Blake as she started to inch away from Ruby.

Ruby held Blake in place, blushing madly, herself, "I-it's okay, Blake," she giggled, "To be honest, I've been crushing on you for a while now."

Blake smiled as she took in Ruby's face, "I think it's kind of obvious that I have a bit of a crush on you too."

"I want to talk about this more, but first I have to ask: are you going to tell Yang and Weiss about your ears, too?" asked Ruby.

Blake broke eye contact with Ruby as she looked out the window and sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	18. The Schnee Heiress Part II

The green trees and colorful flowers in the Emerald Forest were so pleasing to the eye when the sun was just above the tree line. The light would ever so slightly highlight the small imperfections in nature. Imperfections that Weiss had started to become fond of ever since she had the pleasure of truly knowing Yang.

The couple walked through the forest on a path as they enjoyed each other's company.

Despite seeming utterly heedless—walking through a Grimm infested forest without backup—the pair constantly had a listening ear to any sounds and an open eye for any movements that might spell trouble.

Weiss' hand constantly rested on the hilt of her beloved rapier, ready to make use of it if she needed to but not stressing over that possibility.

Meanwhile, Yang had Ember Celica in its stylish, bracelet form on her wrists as always.

Weiss' mind drifted every so often, thinking about everything that had happened in her time at Beacon so far. She was so thankful she met Yang.

The blonde reminded her about who she used to be before all the struggles her father put her through, but there was still more work to be done.

The nightmare Weiss had experienced last night renewed her dwindling fear of her father and what he would do if he found out about what Weiss was doing outside of his watch.

Weiss sighed deeply as she glanced at Yang. She knew Yang was giving her time to think things out: another thing that Weiss liked so much about her.

Yang was completely selfless and inconceivably considerate.

It pained the heiress that she was making Yang keep their relationship a secret for so long, but the risk was still there. Although, they were currently in a forest with no wandering eyes in the area…

Weiss intertwined her fingers with Yang's, unequivocal that there was no one out in the forest to see them.

Yang nearly flinched, not expecting the heiress to want to hold hands with her out in the open like this, but quickly grew comfortable with the feeling of Weiss' soft, delicate hand in hers. She moved closer to Weiss with a fond smile on her face.

Weiss was glad she did this. They never got to hold hands when walking anywhere because there were always people everywhere, but now they could do practically anything they wanted because the forest provided them a great deal of privacy.

For the first time since they entered the forest, Weiss lifted her hand off Myrtenaster and held onto Yang's arm while resting her head on her shoulder.

It was a small gesture, but Yang could not control the wide smile that was plastered on her face. The small things were always the most important to her, and she had been deprived of moments like these for the entirety of their relationship so far.

"This is nice," said Weiss finally, closing her eyes and letting Yang guide her.

"This is what we've been missing," Yang chuckled as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Thank you for being patient with me."

"Of course. Are you ready to talk now? About your nightmare?"

Weiss opened her eyes and nodded her head, "Yes."

"What was it about?" asked Yang.

"A lot of it was about my sister and me. I'm not sure what caused it."

"Right. I remember Blake said you were saying Winter's name in your sleep. So, what happened between you and Winter in the dream?"

"It wasn't so much of a dream as it was a bunch of memories from when I was younger that I was forced to relive. I relived the first time I met Cinder, the White Fang attack on my house… My tenth birthday. And, as I said, Winter was in a lot of those memories," explained Weiss as she snuggled closer to Yang.

"Wait, so you were dreaming… But not actually dreaming? Just remembering?" asked Yang.

"No, it was definitely a dream…" said Weiss struggling to remember some of the minor details, "I remember between events, there was this void of nothingness where I was completely alone. That was honestly the worst part of it. When I was there, it was like I could remember everything that I was going through as it happened. When I was actually in the events themselves, it was like I was straight up plopped into my own shoes, and I had the same thoughts and did the same actions like when those events actually did happen."

"Okay, I think I understand," said Yang, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Weiss thought for a moment before answering, "Oh! You were actually in it too."

"Really?" said Yang, raising an eyebrow, "What did I do?"

"Nothing, really. You just suddenly appeared and then disappeared just as quickly."

"Oh. I'm sorry I did that," said Yang with a frown.

Weiss shook her head with a giggle, "It wasn't really you, dolt. It was just a figment from my stupid brain."

"Hey! Your brain is not stupid. You better be careful about what you say about my girlfriend, or I'll have to bring in the hurt," smiled Yang.

Weiss looked up at Yang with a smile of her own, "I _am_ your girlfriend!" she laughed.

Yang laughed for a while longer before getting back on topic, "Okay, so you basically relived the worst parts of your life, saw me, and that's it?"

"I'm starting to forget a lot of it, but I remember right before I woke up, I was in the void with the Geist in the knight's armor. The one that gave me this," said Weiss, pointing to her scar.

"Are you still afraid of that Geist?" said Yang with a solemn expression.

"No… Yes… I don't know…" said Weiss, trying to make up her mind, "I thought I wasn't afraid anymore, but… I don't know."

"Well, the way I see it, all of those moments that you relived can't hurt you anymore. The damage was already done. Now it's up to you to learn and grow from it," said Yang as she reached for Weiss' chin with the hand that was not already in Weiss', tilting her head up.

"I don't know how you always manage to have something to say that makes me feel better," chuckled Weiss.

"Ruby used to have a lot of nightmares when we were younger, so I've got practice dealing with situations like this," Yang explained, "By the way, you mentioned someone named Cinder earlier. Who is she?"

"Oh, I forgot I didn't tell you yet. Cinder was my personal physician when I was younger. More of a caretaker, actually. She's the person who prescribed the sleeping meds to me."

"Gotcha," said Yang simply.

Weiss sighed contently and allowed a comfortable silence to fall around them. Yang was so warm.

"Weiss?" asked Yang.

"Hm?"

"Could we talk about your medication? We didn't really get a chance to discuss it last night."

"I didn't know there was anything else we could talk about, but sure," said Weiss.

"Are there any side effects that I should be worried about?" asked Yang.

"Having an aura is really great because it negates most side effects, but it is said that paranoia is one that can't be helped by having an aura. I haven't been overly paranoid, have I?" asked Weiss, looking up at Yang.

Yang laughed at the irony, "No, Babe. I don't think you're paranoid… For the most part. So, if you wanted to keep your meds a secret and you've cut communications with your dad, how do you get your hands on more when you run out?"

"My father bought a pharmacy in Vale and gave it to a trusted employee. That employee is actually Cinder, by the way," Weiss explained.

"Wait, so was that pharmacy we went to before we officially became a couple the same one where you get your meds?"

"Guilty," Weiss shrugged with a smirk, "I was out of pills at the time, too."

"Aw, you sneaky, cute little thing, you!" said Yang, shaking a finger in the air as Weiss giggled, "But on a serious note… Is there anything I can do to help you so you don't have to rely on medicine to go to sleep every night?"

Weiss sighed as she separated herself from Yang, still holding her hand, "I don't know if I'll ever _not_ have to rely on them again. Cinder said I developed insomnia because I was stressed, and it's only gotten worse until recently."

"What do you mean? Are you saying your insomnia has improved?"

"I suppose it has a little, but not enough for me to stop using my meds."

"Okay," said Yang as she nodded her head in thought and frowned.

Yang stopped walking, still holding onto Weiss' hand, causing the heiress to stop as well.

"Yang? Is something wrong?" asked Weiss.

"It's just… All my past relationships didn't work out because they never really told me how they felt. I _really_ don't want us to end up like those relationships. Promise me that you will be honest with me and talk to me, Weiss," said Yang, looking Weiss directly in the eyes.

"I promise," said Weiss instantly as she closed the distance between them and hugged her.

"Thank you," said Yang with a sad smile, "I have one more thing I want to talk to you about before we head back."

"Anything you want to say, I'm here to listen to," said Weiss, as she looked up at Yang.

"We need to tell Ruby and Blake about us. Ruby has been feeling left out of her own team because we've been avoiding her and Blake for seemingly no reason," Yang explained.

Weiss bit her lip, "I know… I just… I need time. Just a little more to brace myself."

Yang thought for a moment, "Okay, Weiss. Just a little more time," she said, leaning down to kiss her girlfriend.

"I really can't thank you enough for being so understanding. You have no idea how thankful I am that I met you, Yang," she smiled when they broke apart.

"Oh, stop! You're making me blush," giggled Yang as she took Weiss' hand and started back for the dorms.

A loud crack sounded from behind them. The couple froze, listening for a threat before they separated and turned around.

Sure enough, a pair of burning, red eyes could be seen hiding in the shadow of a tree.

Weiss removed her weapon from her belt as Yang extended her bracelets into their much more destructive form.

Yang shot a rocket at the glowing, red orbs as the beast jumped out of the brush and roared at them.

"A lone Beowolf. This shouldn't be hard," said Weiss as she formed a glyph behind the creature.

Yang let out a battle cry as she unloaded two shots from Ember Celica at the Grimm, who almost instantly vaporized in the intense heat.

Weiss lowered her rapier and pouted, "You couldn't have let me finish my attack?"

"Sorry, Babe," Yang shrugged, "You were too slow," she smirked as several growls could be heard from around them.

The couple looked around, finding several more pairs of eyes staring at them.

Yang's expression changed to a serious one as she stepped closer to Weiss.

"Let's watch each other's backs. Okay, Babe?" asked Yang as Weiss nodded.

* * *

Weiss could not breathe. Never in a million years did she think she was going to die this way.

Death by laughing so hard that she would surely suffocate and die.

After dealing with the Grimm in the Emerald Forest, Yang suggested they get something to eat because they forgot to get breakfast before they went on their walk.

Weiss agreed, and they altered their course to visit the dining hall. They ate brunch and everything was fine and dandy.

When they left the dining hall, there were two geese on the path pecking away at some discarded food that was haphazardly thrown on the ground by some careless student.

"Get a load of these guys," Yang said, pointing a thumb at the two geese.

The brawler left Weiss' side to walk up to the geese that were enjoying their meal in peace.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Weiss, maintaining a good amount of distance from the birds.

"Relax, Weiss. I'm an animal whisperer. Just ask Zwei," said Yang as she crouched next to one of the geese and began to pet it, "See? No harm done."

"Yang, stop that. Geese are aggressive creatures," said Weiss as she walked around her girlfriend and her new friends.

"What are you talking about? George wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone me," said Yang with a scoff.

"You already named it," said Weiss with a dry tone.

"You better believe it, Weissy," said Yang with a wink, "Come on! Say hello to George."

"I will not," laughed Weiss.

"Don't take it personally, George. Weiss is just afraid you might attack her. But you wouldn't do that, would you, George~" said Yang, mocking a baby's voice.

George honked as he turned away from his meal and began to flap his wings wildly at Yang, causing the brawler to shriek and start running.

"George! Wait! I'm your friend!" cried Yang as she ran around in circles.

George continued to honk as he beat Yang with his wings, following her wherever she ran.

"Weiss! Help!" yelped Yang as she wrapped her arms around her head to defend herself from the goose.

Weiss clutched her stomach as she began to laugh uncontrollably, "I would say I told you so—Ha! Ha!—but I think this is punishment enough!"

Weiss was enjoying this so much. She had seen Yang take on four trained fighters at once and witnessed her kill countless Grimm just hours ago, but when it came to one goose, she cried for help.

Eventually, George lost interest and flew back to his friend, returning to his meal.

Yang ran back to Weiss, breathing heavily from her tussle with George.

"I can't breathe!" wheezed Weiss as tears formed in her laughing eyes.

Yang, who was trying to fix her disheveled hair, could not resist laughing along with her girlfriend. She _really_ adored Weiss' laugh.

"We should probably head back to the dorm. I think we've left Rubes and Blake waiting long enough," said Yang as Weiss nodded and wiped a tear from her face, still giddy from Yang's battle with George.

After a short walk to their dorm—Weiss, smiling happily the whole way there—Yang opened the door for her girlfriend.

"Hello, girls," Weiss greeted sweetly to Ruby and Blake, who were sitting on Blake's bed with somber expressions on their faces, "You would not believe the morning we had!"

"Hey guys," Blake began, nervously, "I have something really important to tell you…"

"What's up, Blake?" asked Yang as she moved to stand next to Weiss.

Blake hesitated for a moment and Ruby placed her hand on Blake's arm, causing Weiss and Yang to raise an eyebrow.

"Guys, I'm… Not who you think I am," said Blake, shakily.

"What are you talking about, Blake?" chuckled Weiss.

"I'm… A faunus," whispered Blake as she removed the bow that was always on her head, leaving her ears on display, "And… I was previously a member of the White Fang."

The smile fell from Weiss' face in an instant as she stared, blankly, at Blake's ears.

Blake waited a second for Weiss to say something, but the heiress continued to stare.

"Weiss, please listen to me when I say I am not one of them anymore! I know you hate the White Fang, and I left them as soon as they started to do unspeakable acts like killing innocent people! I know you must hate me, too… But I still see you as my friend, and I would never do anything to hurt any of you!" cried Blake as tears began to form in her eyes.

Weiss' stare did not cease.

"Weiss?" Blake begged, all eyes now on the heiress.

Weiss sighed before lifting her chin up, "The White Fang made my childhood a lot harder than it needed to be and have taken away so many of the things I loved, and I do hate them for it," she began as Blake looked down at her toes, "But I most certainly do _not_ hate _you,_ Blake."

Everyone in the room flinched, not expecting Weiss to react this way.

"You don't?" asked Blake, wiping a tear from her face with her arm.

"How could I?" asked Weiss, shaking her head, "Ever since I opened up to you guys, you have been nothing but supportive of me. It would be completely hypocritical of me to hate you for admitting to one of your past mistakes. And you must realize I am no stranger to keeping secrets like this. Have you forgotten I hid _this_ from you all for nearly two months?" she said as she pointed at her scar, "I know how it feels to be afraid of people knowing you and getting close to you. I don't care why you hid your ears, but I do care about you being open with us. And, to be honest, I am honored that you would share this with us."

"The same goes for me, Blake. We're going to stick with you, no matter what," said Yang with a soft smile.

"I really couldn't have asked for better friends than you guys," said Blake, her lip quivering.

"I just wish you showed us those adorable ears sooner!" pouted Yang, causing everyone to laugh.

"Um, guys. There's actually one more teensy, tiny, little thing we would like to tell you," said Ruby, playing with her cloak, nervously.

"What is it, Ruby?" asked Weiss after everyone calmed down.

Ruby took a few, quick deep breaths to steel herself and looked at a smiling Blake for support before she spoke, "Me and Blake are dating!" she blurted out.

Yang snorted loudly and clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh as Ruby and Blake blushed and looked at each other, confused.

Weiss was trying to resist a wide smile at the irony of this situation.

"Should we tell them?" asked Yang with a smirk.

Weiss pretended to think for a moment, placing her pointer finger on her chin, "Hm… No… I think we should show them," she said with a sultry tone as she placed her hand on Yang's cheek and pulled her into a fiery kiss.

Weiss smiled into the kiss as she felt Yang's arms wrap around her, practically hearing Ruby and Blake's jaws hit the floor.

The heiress opened one of her eyes to peek at her teammates and felt a strange feeling inside her when she saw them gawking.

It felt _exhilarating._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	19. The Vernal Palace

"I can't even believe what is happening right now!" shrieked Ruby as Weiss and Yang smirked at her, "I knew you guys were, like, super close, but this is just crazy! You just kissed my sister right in front of me!"

Weiss and Yang blushed lightly as they shyly looked away from each other, "It didn't happen overnight, dolt," chuckled Weiss.

"I honestly feel like an idiot for not realizing this sooner," said Blake, slapping herself in the head.

"You shouldn't, Blake. We actually tried really hard to keep our relationship a secret," explained Yang.

"Why did you keep your relationship a secret from us until now?" asked Ruby, looking glum.

Yang felt a pang of hurt pulse through her chest at the look on Ruby's face, "Ruby, I—"

"Ruby, I'm sorry, and I promise you it wasn't anything personal," interrupted Weiss as she stepped in between Yang and Ruby, "I was just… Afraid. I wanted to keep the people who knew about our relationship at a minimum because I was afraid that, if more people knew, word would spread more quickly to my father, and I'm sure you can guess how he might feel about his daughter dating another girl."

Ruby and Blake shared a look before the red girl smiled at Weiss, "We get it, Weiss, but remember we are _all_ a team. It's situations like this where we need to communicate the most, okay?" Weiss smiled and nodded as Ruby gave her a hug, "And we forgive you."

Yang could have sworn she felt a tear come to her eye. Her younger sister had grown so much since their time at Beacon, and it made her so proud.

"Oh, look at my baby sister!" cried Yang as she wrapped her arms around her teammates, crushing Weiss in between herself and Ruby, "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yaaang! You're killing me!" cried Ruby.

"You get in here, too, Blakey!" said Yang as she opened one of her arms to accept Blake in the group hug.

Blake scoffed and rolled her eyes as she smiled and joined the rest of her team in a group hug.

After being squeezed by Yang for a moment, the brawler finally let her team go, only for Ruby to become the exuberant girl her team knew her to be.

"So… Weiss and Yang are dating!? When did this happen?" squealed Ruby with joy.

"Oh, man… Maybe a month and a half ago? I don't really know. I wasn't keeping track of time," said Yang, scratching the back of her head.

"As of today, Yang and I have been together for a total of thirty-five days. Forty-three if you count when we first kissed," confirmed Weiss with a finger in the air.

"Holy cow! This has been happening right under our noses for almost a month and a half!" cried Ruby, still amazed by what was going on.

"Yeah, and hiding it is torture!" groaned Yang, "Do you know how hard it was for me to resist something as small as holding hands with Weiss in public?"

"That really stinks," said Ruby with a frown, "You guys can't act like a couple outside of this room," she concluded.

"Before, we didn't even have this room, but now I get to kiss my girlfriend whenever I want in here," chuckled Yang as she grabbed her girlfriend around the waist and planted a soft kiss onto her lips.

"Okay, maybe we're going to have to set some ground rules for that. It's kind of weird seeing Yang kiss someone…" said Ruby as she slightly cringed, "Anyway! I'm guessing you guys went on dates every time you went to Vale without us, then?"

"No," replied Weiss.

"Ah, so your trips to the dance hall were your dates," said Blake before Weiss could explain, "I must say, it was brilliant of you two to use that as a cover."

"No. Yang and I haven't been on any dates yet," admitted Weiss.

"Yes, we have," gainsaid Yang with a raised eyebrow, "All of our times in the dancehall and that one time we went to Vale and stopped by the pharmacy were dates."

Now Weiss raised an eyebrow, "No they weren't."

"Weiss, all of our trips to the dance hall and Vale were just you and me, alone, spending time with each other. That's what a date is, is it not?" asked Yang.

"I suppose… But we never called them _dates_ until right now," Weiss pouted, "A date should be planned in advance, not just some whimsical thing we do together. And most importantly, both parties should be _aware_ they are going on a date _before_ they are _on_ said date."

"Oh my gosh! Who cares!?" cheered Ruby, "I'm just glad you both don't have to avoid us anymore!" Ruby froze and gasped loudly, "But, speaking of dates… Let's go on a double date!"

Yang and Weiss both set their gazes on their leader, "Right now?" asked Weiss.

"Yes! Right now!" shouted Ruby as she sped past the heiress.

"Oh, no you don't," said Weiss as she grabbed Ruby's hood before she could get far, "Not only do we have class in the morning, but you have yet to complete any of your homework."

"Don't be a buzzkill, Weiss!" pouted Ruby, "I'll just do it when we get back!"

"Judging by the size of that stack of paper on your bed, I find that very hard to believe," said Weiss, rolling her eyes as Yang giggled.

"Aw… Blake?" Ruby called to her girlfriend with pleading, silver eyes.

"I hate to say it Ruby, but Weiss is right," said Blake as she took a seat on her bed.

"You're supposed to take my side no matter what," said Ruby, pointing at Blake as the faunus shrugged in response.

* * *

Weiss sat on the edge of her bed as she delicately handled the three pieces of her broken tiara. At this point, she had given up on finding a replacement in Vale and pondered on whether she should attempt to forge another one. The bland, grey hairpin she had been using was only meant to be a temporary hairpiece, after all.

The heiress' mind drifted back to the time when her tiara was broken. It hurt so much when she fought Yang, but she would go through that pain again if it meant she could be with the brawler now.

She admired the shiny, metallic look of the three shards she held in her hand, thinking about the person who broke them. Despite one of her most prized possessions currently resting, broken, in her hands, she could not help but smile.

_I should treat Yang to something really special._ _Like an official first date! That would be a good idea._

Weiss thought about Yang and herself laughing and having fun together without being bothered by the people around them. She would be sure to cherish that day when it came.

If it came…

None of that mattered, however. Weiss had Yang, and that was good. She did not mind having to worry about such matters as hiding themselves unless they would threaten the integrity of their relationship.

Yang glanced at Weiss and bit her cheek at the sight of her lost in thought and holding her broken tiara in her hands. She thought about whether she should say something to her before eventually making a decision.

The brawler moved to Weiss' bed and sat down next to her, "Hey, Babe. What are you thinking about?" she asked with a soft smile.

Weiss looked at Yang before opening a drawer in her bedside table and setting the shattered tiara in it, "Oh, nothing..." she said as she wrapped her arm around Yang's arm and leaned on her, "I was just fantasizing about us."

" _What_ about us?" asked Yang, almost afraid of what Weiss was going to say.

"About us on a date," Weiss answered, much to Yang's relief, "We were having the time of our lives, and we didn't give a damn about anyone who saw us. It was perfect…"

Yang smiled and sighed as she pictured such a scenario in her head, "Hopefully we aren't too far from when that actually happens."

Weiss nodded and let her eyes rest for a moment.

Strange… She felt sleepy. Almost like she felt after taking some of her meds.

"I want to go on a date with you so very _badly,"_ sighed Weiss, "And it's obnoxious that we can't. Not without going public with our relationship."

"I think we could pull it off," said Yang, softly.

"The second we hold hands or kiss, everyone will know I'm dating you," whined Weiss.

"I don't have to hold your hand or touch you or kiss you to show you how much I care about you," chuckled Yang, "Although it is a great part of our relationship, all that matters is that we are spending time together. We both agreed that's what a date is."

Weiss nodded her head at Yang's logic, "I suppose you're right," she said as a wide smile slowly formed on her face, "Yang, how would _you_ like to go on our first date next weekend?"

Yang smirked and looked down on her girlfriend, "That sounds awesome to me."

The heiress gave Yang a toothy grin as she felt the excitement grow within herself, her whole body, shaking in anticipation, "Leave it to me! I'll plan a date for us to go on next weekend, and it will be absolutely perfect!" she cheered.

"You're really excited about this," giggled Yang.

"Of course, I am! I haven't planned a date in almost a year!" laughed Weiss.

"You guys are so adorable," squeaked Ruby, poking her head over the edge of her bed and smiling at her teammates.

"You can say that again," smirked Blake as she briefly looked up from her own homework.

"Back to work, Ruby!" shouted Weiss as she pointed at Ruby.

"Yes, ma'am!" saluted Ruby.

* * *

Weiss could hardly contain her excitement for her first real date with Yang. It was unfortunate that they would have to restrain from doing anything that might give them away, but she believed today would be enjoyable none the less. She would not settle for anything less than perfect.

The heiress spent a sizable portion of the past week making calls on her scroll and looking up locations in Vale that would tend to her desires for the perfect date. She found a location called The Vernal Palace that she decided would work flawlessly.

It was a five-star restaurant that was said to have food from all around Remnant. There would certainly be something Yang would like from the place, and Weiss already knew what she was going to order.

She made a reservation for today nearly three days ago. Despite the establishment being booked, Weiss eliminated the minor hindrance by using her charm and title of heiress to the Schnee Dust Company as leverage to hold some precious space for Yang and herself.

Weiss and Yang stood at the entrance of The Vernal Palace, admiring the edifice for a moment. It was a large, magnificent building with giant glass panes that allowed the customers to look out on the city and for onlookers to look at the interior and marvel at its beauty while wishing they could enter.

Weiss smiled at the way Yang's eyes looked like lilac gems, silently reveling in the palace's majesty. She definitely chose the right place.

"Are you ready to go inside, or are you satisfied with staring at it?" Weiss teased as she opened the door, her long, white evening gown fluttering slightly in the chilled breeze.

Yang snapped her attention to her girlfriend, the childlike wonder still clear on her face, "Mama wants to go inside!" joked Yang as she followed the heiress into the building.

The brawler was excited for this, but seeing the look on Weiss' face made her absolutely ecstatic. She could tell Weiss was looking forward to this all week with the way she smiled before walking through the entrance.

Seeing Weiss happy made Yang happy.

Upon entering the waiting room, a man with black hair and a small handlebar mustache greeted them, "Good evening, Miss Schnee. We have the reservation for you and your friend right this way," he said as he bowed slightly and led them to a table.

As they walked through the dining rooms, Yang was mesmerized by the restaurant's interior design. She had never seen a cleaner looking building. The black marble floor was completely spotless and there were several pieces of colorless art and sculptures dotted around the place. The walls were completely black and the whole room had a dark atmosphere in it, despite being brightly lit up by lights that hung from the ceiling, surrounding an ornate, diamond chandelier.

Yang was so busy staring at the chandelier that she nearly bumped into Weiss when they stopped. She noticed that all the other patrons were looking at her like she was from a different planet. It became painstakingly clear that she stood out.

The brawler looked around the room and saw that everyone else matched the aesthetic of the establishment. They wore either white, black, grey, or some other dark shade of color. Meanwhile, Yang nervously played with her huge, bright blonde mane that made her stick out like a sore thumb.

Normally Yang was not so shy about sticking out in a crowd, but it was different in this place. Anywhere else, she would welcome any and all attention, but here it felt like she was constantly being ridiculed by these people.

"Yang? Aren't you going to sit down?" asked Weiss, already seated in a chair at their designated table.

"Oh! Right," said Yang, slightly louder than she meant to before sitting across from the heiress.

"You know, I must say this place is quite impressive. I did not expect there to be a place of such caliber in Vale," admitted Weiss.

"If this is just 'impressive' for you, I really want to see what a restaurant in Atlas looks like," chuckled Yang, faintly fidgeting in her seat.

Weiss groaned as she handed a menu to Yang, "I really don't want to go back to Atlas any time soon. Honestly, I don't think I ever want to go back there ever again," she said, shaking her head.

"After all the shit you've been through, I can't say I blame you," smirked Yang, as a few heads turned to look at them.

Weiss cringed at Yang's swear, "I would refrain from using any profane language in here," she whispered.

Yang's eyes shot open, "Oh! I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"No, don't worry about it. It's my fault. I should have told you," Weiss insisted.

Yang bit her cheek and looked down at the dress she was wearing, not wanting to delve further with this conversation. Weiss had bought her this black evening gown for her and only gave it to her today. It was a lot more modest than she was used to and moderately tight in her chest.

The brawler shifted uncomfortably, looking over the menu as she pulled at her dress.

"Hey, what's a blan… ket… de … vee… ow?" Yang said in an attempted to pronounce the name of an entrée.

"Blanquette de Veau?" said Weiss, fluently with a small smile, "It's sort of like a stew with veal and mixed vegetables as well as a thick, creamy sauce. I'm unsure about how it tastes _here_ , but I've had it in Atlas, and I liked it. I think you will like it too."

Yang nodded her head as she thought for a moment, "Okay, I think I'll try that, then," she said as she shut her menu and handed it back to Weiss.

Weiss made eye contact with the waiter and smiled sweetly at him when he came to them with two glasses of water.

"Welcome to The Vernal Palace. My name is Gérard, and I will be your server today. What would you like to order?" said the waiter.

"I would like to order the Blanquette de Veau for my friend here," said Weiss as she gestured to Yang.

"Very good, madam. And for you?"

"I would like the Sole Meunière, please," answered Weiss.

"Excellent choice, madam. The sole is perfect at this time of the year," said the waiter as he took the menus from the table and left to tell the chef their orders.

Weiss looked back at Yang and noticed she was picking at her dress.

"Is something wrong, Yang?" asked Weiss.

"No, I'm alright," said Yang, smiling at Weiss for a moment.

"Do you not like the dress?" frowned Weiss, ignoring Yang's answer to her previous question.

"No, I do like the dress!" Yang said hastily, "It's just… A little tight," she whispered.

"I suppose I should have asked you what size bust you are…" said Weiss, mentally kicking herself for misjudging the size of her girlfriend's breasts.

"Eh, it's alright," said Yang, waving a hand in front of herself, "I'm still having fun."

Weiss smiled at Yang before the brawler began to fidget some more, "Oh, come on, Yang. It can't be _that_ bad," she sighed.

"What are you talking about?" asked Yang.

"You have been fidgeting in your seat so much," Weiss pointed out.

"Oh… That's not because of the dress," said Yang as she subtly pointed behind Weiss.

Weiss raised an eyebrow and turned around in her seat to find several people staring at them. Or staring at Yang, rather.

"It's like they can sense that I'm not a fancy pants," Yang joked with frown.

Weiss glanced back at Yang and saw the look on her face. It was unacceptable. She would not stand for this on her perfect first date.

Weiss narrowed her eyes and turned around, giving everyone a glimpse of her famous icy gaze that would have surely killed them all, if looks could do such a thing.

"Pay no mind to any of them, Yang," she said after all the patrons looked away and returned to their meals, "They're just a bunch of snobby rich people."

Yang visibly relaxed as a smirk spread on her face, "Weren't _you_ a snobby rich person, like, two months ago?" she joked.

Weiss huffed out her nose with a smirk of her own, "There she is…"

Before the heiress could get lost in Yang's lilac irises, the waiter returned with their food, saying a quick, "Bon Appétit," before tending to another table.

Yang breathed in the scents of her stew and smiled warmly, "Mm… This smells _so_ good."

"Take a bite," offered Weiss with a smirk, "I want to see how you react."

Yang chuckled as she picked up a fork and impaled a small piece of veal and popped it into her mouth. The brawler instantly tasted a pleasant flavor squeeze out of the tender meat.

"Oh man. That ish good," she said while chewing.

Weiss cringed again, practically feeling the people behind her stare at them, "Yang, please try not to speak with your mouth full," she said quietly.

Yang mentally slapped herself as she swallowed the bite, "My bad. Man, I am so bad at this," she sighed as she rested her elbows on the table and held her head in her hands.

"You shouldn't put your elbows on the table, either…" said Weiss, hearing someone from behind her scoff.

Yang took her elbows off the table and rested her hands in her lap, "Weiss, I'm really sorry about this," she said, feeling awkward.

Weiss felt her ire grow at the people who could not mind their own business, "No. _You_ can do whatever you want. If these people _really_ have a problem with you, then I will have a stern conversation with them about proper manners in a public setting," she scowled.

Yang said nothing, opting to eat her meal and let the heiress calm down. After a few minutes, Weiss was calm enough to begin eating her entrée.

After they were finished, Yang pushed her plate forward and frowned at the miserable expression on Weiss' face. It would seem the heiress was more saddened by Yang's treatment by their fellow patrons than she was.

Seeing Weiss sad made Yang sad.

Yang was about to say something before a woman from a table beside them whispered something loudly to someone else at that table.

"What is Weiss _Schnee_ doing with a slattern like _that,"_ said the woman.

Weiss' face instantly shifted to an expression of unbridled rage. She stood up, scraping the legs of her chair against the ground, and looked the woman in the face with a death stare.

"I-I'm sorry!" stuttered the woman.

Without looking away from her, Weiss pulled a thick stack of lien out of her handbag and set it on the table. It was far more than enough to pay for, both, Yang's and her own meals.

"Come on, Yang. We're leaving," she said bitterly as she turned away from the miserable woman, her heels clacking loudly as she stormed out of the building.

Yang jogged up to Weiss' side as she walked briskly towards the airdock. The scowl on Weiss' face was so fierce that even Yang was afraid to say something.

The brawler opened her mouth to try to calm her raging girlfriend before getting cold feet and shutting her mouth. She bit her cheek, not liking the look of an enraged Weiss. Although strangely arousing, anger was Yang's least favorite look on her.

When the couple got to the air dock, Weiss stomped onto an airship for Beacon and marched all the way to the back of the vessel, taking a seat in front of a window and away from anyone else onboard.

Yang pressed her lips into a fine line as she awkwardly sat next to Weiss, who was quietly fuming as she tapped her foot, agitatedly. She knew it would only be a few short minutes of Weiss looking out the window for her to calm down, so she waited.

Soon, Yang felt the heat of tension in the air leave with Weiss' pure disdain.

Weiss sighed as she looked out the window. Her perfect date was ruined.

"Are you okay, Weiss?" asked Yang from the seat beside her.

"Can you believe the nerve of some people," frowned Weiss, ignoring the question.

"It's like you said: they're just a bunch of snobby rich people."

Weiss took a deep breath as she slammed her fist on her leg, "Dammit! It was supposed to be perfect!" she shouted in a hushed voice.

Yang thought carefully before speaking, "So what if it wasn't perfect?" she said.

Weiss looked at Yang like she insulted her, "Yang, I spent all week planning this date to be flawless, so we could have _fun_. Not to get ridiculed by a bunch of pompous _wretches."_

"Well, then I guess you succeeded," said Yang, earning a strange look from her girlfriend, "Although it wasn't exactly perfect by your standards, a date doesn't have to always be 'perfect' for it to be memorable or enjoyable. I saw my girlfriend stand up for me today, _and_ you managed to do it without killing anyone. I can say, without a doubt, that I will never forget our first date."

A hint of a smile appeared on Weiss' face, "I really did want to kill her," chuckled Weiss, causing Yang to laugh.

"How about I plan our date for next week?" Yang offered.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "You want to plan a date?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask? Is that surprising?"

"I just didn't think you would want to do something like that."

Yang nodded, "In my opinion, dates are always the best when there is a bit of… _Variability_ in them. I just want to show you how I do dates."

Weiss smiled at Yang, "I absolutely cannot wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	20. The Emerald Forest

Weiss sat in class slumped over the desk with her chin resting on her palm and waiting for Professor Peach's interminable lesson to be over. She knew her past self would be utterly disappointed in her right now, but she lacked a reason to care.

She did _not,_ however, lack an exciting plan for the rest of the day. Today, she had another date with Yang.

What they would be doing, Weiss did not know. All she knew was that Yang spent all week planning it and was being almost irritatingly secretive about it.

Weiss was not worried about it going terribly. Nothing could be as bad at the date she planned last week.

What was she thinking? Taking Yang Xiao Long to a restaurant like _that?_ She knew it would be filled to the brim with judgmental and prejudice people.

Weiss bit the inside of her cheek. She was still mildly upset by how their first date went, and all this time to think about it while she waited for class to end only made her more excited.

The heiress quietly drummed her nails on the desk as she glanced at Yang.

Yang was tapping her boot impatiently, also excited for whatever it was she was planning to do with Weiss.

"Alright, class. You are dismissed. Please remember there is a test next week!" called Professor Peach as the students began to funnel out the door.

"Finally!" groaned Yang, standing from her seat and stretching her arms above her head, "I was starting to think we would be stuck in here all day."

"I would like to pass on that," joked Weiss as she walked out of the lecture hall with Yang, followed by Ruby and Blake.

"Hey, me and Blake have to do something super fast! We'll catch up with you guys later!" said Ruby as she grabbed a yelping Blake by the hand and sped away.

Weiss raised an eyebrow as she watched the two girls disappear around a corner down the hall, "That was… Odd," she said, "What do you suppose they're up to?"

"Beats me," shrugged Yang, "Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm great. Why do you ask?" asked Weiss.

"Can't I ask my girlfriend how she's doing every once in a while?" Yang chuckled after making sure nobody was listening to their conversation.

"Of _course_ you can. I'm just not used to being asked that question, I suppose," admitted Weiss as she began to walk towards the exit of the academic building.

"So… Are you ready for our you-know-what?" asked Yang, practically shaking with anticipation.

"You have no idea," sighed Weiss, "I've been waiting all week for this."

Yang raised an eyebrow, "You don't _sound_ very excited."

"It's a bit difficult to be excited for something if you don't know what it is," pouted Weiss as she looked up at Yang with her best impression of Ruby's pleading puppy dog eyes.

"No way, Weiss. I'm not telling you yet. You're going to have to wait and find out," giggled Yang as she poked Weiss' nose with her finger.

"You are impossible," said Weiss, crossing her arms and doing her best to look angry.

"Oh, stop it," smirked Yang as she lightly punched Weiss' arm, "You'll live."

Yang opened the door of the academic hall and let Weiss exit before her.

"I know I'll live. You, on the other hand, will not if you don't tell me!" pouted Weiss as she turned around to face her girlfriend.

"Patience, Weiss! Patience!" giggled Yang as she stepped closer to the heiress, "I've got to pick up a few things in the workshop really quick. Meet you back in the dorm?"

"Wait! Can you at least tell me if I should wear anything specific or bring something with me?" shouted Weiss as Yang began walking, backward, towards the workshop.

"You don't need to bring anything and what you're wearing right now is fine!" called Yang as she turned and began jogging away.

"Dammit, Yang! Tell me what we're going to do!" shouted Weiss, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"No can do, Weissy!" sang Yang as she ran around the corner of a building.

Weiss stamped her foot on the ground with a pout, "Why do I put myself through this," she said to herself as she made her way to the dorms.

Despite Yang refusing to tell Weiss what they would be doing for their date, Weiss could not help but smile to herself. She was glad she had someone who would do something like this for her. She remembered she was the one who would always plan dates with her ex-boyfriend, that _pig._

Not wanting to think about her ex, Weiss began to think back on the week for a hint of what Yang was planning.

Yang was almost excessively occupied for a large portion of the week.

The heiress saw her sparingly after classes were over for the day, and Yang would always give her the excuse of 'putting the pieces together.'

Such a vague answer quickly made Weiss hungry for more information. She could not think of anything the blonde might have been planning.

The brawler always returned to the dorms late at night, already after Weiss had taken her medication and gone to bed. She only knew about that because Blake told her she would wake up when Yang opened the door every night, alerting the faunus to her presence.

What could she be doing well into the night for five days in a row? Maybe Yang was doing something _much_ bigger than Weiss thought.

Weiss sighed as she realized she was now in front of her dorm room. She pulled out her scroll, unlocked the door, and entered the room.

It felt so strange being alone again, after so many months of always being within thirty feet of one of her teammates. The heiress had almost forgotten what that felt like.

Weiss sat on her bed and listened.

It was so quiet.

No Ruby around to cheer about something that was hardly worth it.

No Blake around to sigh as she read something that stuck with her.

No Yang around to make a stupid joke that would make her laugh anyway.

Solitude was as torturous as ever. It deprived her of the things she had grown fond of, but the heiress could not deny how nice it was to have some peace and quiet for once.

Weiss kicked her boots off and laid in her bed, closing her eyes so she could think. She did not want Yang to see it, but Weiss was moderately stressed out by everything that was going on.

Telling Ruby and Blake about their relationship did little to diminish her nerves about her father possibly learning about what she was doing. If anything, it made her _more_ nervous.

She kept telling herself she could trust Ruby and Blake—she knew she could—but her fears refused to leave her be.

On top of that whole ordeal, the dance was only months away and she had not gotten any word from Roman about the progress of her dragon. She still needed to hire some people to help her decorate the rest of the dance hall as well.

Weiss sighed as she turned to her side, facing the wall. 

_Maybe I should spend a little less time studying and more time with Yang. My grades are perfect right now, and I'll probably feel less stressed if I do that… But then my grades won't be as perfect._

Weiss let her mind wander as she wrapped her arms around her torso. Soon, her thighs began to rub against each other as she let her mind wander a little farther than she should have. She began to salivate as her heart beat a bit faster in her chest and her hands moved down her body.

It was so rare for the heiress to have time for herself nowadays. Ever since she was injured by the Arma Gigas, she was too afraid to indulge in any form of self-inflicted pleasure in her room at the manor because her father could have walked in on her at any moment. A similar problem arose when she was in the dorm at Beacon, only this time, her teammates would surely walk in on her.

Weiss' eyes shot open as she realized what she was doing. She rolled over and sat up as she straightened out her skirt.

_What am I doing!? Someone could have walked right through the door and seen me!_

Weiss mentally chided herself as she stood up from her tempting bed. She searched her mind for whatever she was thinking about before she got preoccupied with her indecent thoughts but could not remember.

With a frustrated groan, the heiress sat on Blake's bed, confident that she would not accidentally start touching herself on a bed that was not hers. She did not want to take any chances, however, and looked around the room for something to distract herself until Yang would eventually come to get her for their date.

Weiss' eyes glossed over some books, then some paper until they stopped at the pile of notebooks on her desk.

_I haven't drawn anything for a while…_

Her gaze moved to Yang's video games. 

_I'll draw something later._

Weiss stood from Blake's bed and bent over Yang's collection of games. After sifting through her library, she found something that looked interesting, put it into the system, linked her scroll to the display.

Before long, a title page popped up and was accompanied by a choir of people, singing what Weiss assumed was the game's main theme. She clicked a button that said, 'start solo campaign,' and was met with a short video before being put in control of a person wilding some kind of firearm.

The character began to move through a jungle with a group of allies until they came across some enemies.

Weiss quickly became immersed in this new game, slaughtering countless aliens for a few hours before Yang stepped through the door.

"Hey, Babe," said Yang into Weiss' ear, causing the heiress to jump.

"Yang!" she shouted before looking back at the screen and watching her character fall to the ground, dead, "You made me die," she pouted.

"You like that game, huh? It's one of my favorites," laughed Yang as she helped her girlfriend stand up.

"Yes. I've enjoyed the story so far, but I don't really understand what's going on half the time. I feel like I should have played the first two games before this one," admitted Weiss, "On a separate note… Where have you been for the past three hours!?"

"I was just putting together the final touches of our date before we go. Are you ready?" asked Yang as she opened the door.

"I'm always ready to spend an afternoon with you," said Weiss as she shut the door and kissed Yang on the lips, only to open the door again and walk out, "Alright, so where are we going, Yang? And you better not say I'll have to wait and see."

Yang laughed as she began to lead Weiss out of the dorm building, "First, we're going to the garage," she said.

"The garage? Our _you-know-what_ is in the _garage?"_ asked Weiss, baffled.

"No!" said Yang with a chuckle, "That's just where Bumblebee is."

"Your bike? Are we going somewhere far?"

"Kinda sorta," smirked Yang.

Now, Weiss was intrigued. She could tell Yang put a lot of effort into this whole thing, and she could not wait to see it with her own eyes.

She immediately had a few guesses, of course.

"Are we going to the coast? To the beach, maybe?" asked Weiss.

"Nope," Yang responded, with a pop.

"The outskirts of Vale?"

"Nuh-uh."

Weiss thought carefully for a moment as the two exited the dorm building.

"Are we leaving Vale?"

Yang groaned and turned to Weiss, holding onto her shoulders, "Weiss, _I_ am planning this _thing,_ and part of my plan was for it to be a surprise, so I would _really_ appreciate it if you would stop asking where we're going… Okay?"

"I-I'm sorry. I was just—"

"You're just excited. I know. I am too," said Yang with a smile, "Now, let's go get my bike and get this show on the road."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," said Weiss, smiling fondly at her girlfriend as they made the short walk to the garage.

Yang walked up to the terminal and brought her scroll up to the console. After a short beep, a large door rose into the ceiling, revealing a small space with a sleek, prepossessing motorcycle.

"Say hello to my pride and joy, Weiss!" cheered Yang as she walked to the side of Bumblebee and rested her head on its chassis.

Its golden paint job matched its owner well, and Weiss saw the aesthetic appeal of the bike as soon as she laid eyes on it. But its windshield was relatively small, and its wheels were gargantuan. The heiress wondered how such a vehicle could go at any speed she would call impressive.

"It's beautiful, Yang," said Weiss as she walked around the bike, admiring its design, "How fast can it go?"

" _She_ can go fast enough!" Yang boasted, "I won't bore you with the specs right now. All I'll say is: she will get us to where we're going."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Weiss teased as she straddled the bike on the passenger's seat, "Now let's go! I've waited all week for this!"

"Hold on a second there, Weiss," said Yang, stoically, "We're not going anywhere until you put _this_ on."

Yang, who was now wearing a gold helmet, held out a white, full-face motorcycle helmet for Weiss.

"Yang, although I appreciate you being worried about my safety, I don't need that. I trust that you are a good driver," said Weiss.

"Damn right I'm a good driver!" Yang gloated with a smirk, "I just don't want to take any chances. The last thing I want to happen today is for you to get hurt. Plus, I kind of promised my dad I would always make any of my passengers wear a helmet whenever they ride this thing with me."

"I wouldn't want to disobey any of your father's rules," giggled Weiss as she pulled the bland, grey hairpin from her hair.

Weiss wrapped her long, pristine hair in a messy bun and accepted the helmet from Yang.

"Woah," said Yang as Weiss was about to slip the helmet on.

"What?" asked Weiss, freezing with the helmet hovering above her.

"Nothing bad, if that's what you're thinking. It's just that I forgot how you look with your hair up like that. You look almost like a completely different person," Yang chuckled as she mounted Bumblebee.

"Does this 'different person' look better?" asked Weiss as Yang revved up her motorcycle.

"Wouldn't say she looks _better_ , just different," replied Yang with a chuckle, "Hold on tight, okay, Babe?"

Weiss wrapped her arms around Yang's torso and clung onto her tightly as her girlfriend slowly rolled out of the garage. After weaving through campus on her bike, Yang made a turn towards the Emerald Forest.

The heiress was curious. What could Yang have possibly planned for both of them to do in the Emerald Forest? The suspense was absolutely antagonizing, but Weiss stopped thinking about it when they entered the forest.

Yang began to drive faster down the trail, creating drag that noisily blew past their ears.

By the coarse texture of the dirt and gravel they were driving over, Weiss expected to be met with a bumpy and painful voyage to wherever they were going, but surprisingly, she felt no such pain. The bike almost felt like it was gliding over the off-road ground, but that was probably because they were not traveling very fast.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" asked Weiss with a voice that could be heard over the wind.

"You want to go _faster?"_ asked Yang in disbelief.

"This is a motorcycle! Motorcycles should be fast, should they not?" teased Weiss, smirking at Yang through her helmet's visor.

"I can't argue with that," chuckled Yang as she pulled out a pair of aviator sunglasses from her pocket and put them on with one hand, "Don't you dare let go of me!"

Yang revved the bike twice before accelerating greatly, doing a wheelie for a solid second as they sped down the trail.

Weiss laughed boisterously as she watched the trees speed by, barely able to distinguish when one tree ended and another one started. The grin on her face was immutable, never faltering or fading as she could feel Yang laughing with her.

"Woo-hoo!" Weiss shrieked while she held onto Yang for dear life, "This. Is. _Amazing!"_

"Have you _never_ been on a motorcycle before?" asked Yang with an amused huff as she increased her speed even more.

"Do you really think my father would ever allow me to ride on one of these death machines!?" Weiss laughed.

Yang laughed as she scoped out a few turns up ahead, making her smile falter slightly. She had enjoyed hearing Weiss' uncontrolled laughter while taking her on a ride through the most private place she could find.

"You have no idea how painful it is for me to do this, but we've got to slow down now!" shouted Yang over her shoulder.

"Aw, what!?" pouted Weiss as Yang slowed down drastically, "That wasn't very long."

"Well, we were going _really_ freaking fast. There are just a few more turns up here and then we'll be there."

Weiss looked around and noticed the orange sunlight gliding over the treetops. Perhaps they were on the trail for much longer than she originally thought. The heiress chuckled to herself, thinking about how quickly time passed when she was with Yang.

She hated it.

Weiss begged for time to slow as Yang made a few more turns.

She watched a few brown leaves fall from the trees overhead, signaling the first signs of autumn. The chilled breeze continued to brush past them, yet Weiss still felt warm. She breathed in the scents of the forest, feeling the blissful aroma settle in her body as she sighed and rested her head on Yang's strong shoulder, letting her eyes flutter closed.

Yang smiled fondly at the sensation of the heiress' body pressed up against hers, letting out a contented sigh of her own as she made one final turn to exit the forest.

The brawler stopped the bike, pulled out her keys, and removed her helmet, "We're here, Weiss," she said softly.

Weiss reluctantly lifted her head off Yang to discover where she had been taken. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell upon a wide, open field filled with golden grass that absorbed the glow of the sun that hung just above the horizon. In her field of view, Weiss spotted a single, small tree with leaves that had already begun to turn red and brown. Looking to the sides, she found more of the Emerald Forest in the distance as well as behind her. She was utterly baffled by how such a vast and green jumble of plant life could so suddenly shift into this broad, gilded plane.

"Wow…" said Weiss in awe as she removed her white helmet and stood up from Yang's bike, "Yang… How did you find this place?"

"Back when we were still fighting, I used to come to the Emerald Forest to blow off some steam on the Grimm," explained Yang as she dismounted Bumblebee and put her sunglasses back in her pocket, "One day I was _really_ pissed and went as far into the forest as I could, which is when I found _this."_

Weiss' eyes looked onto Yang's as a realization dawned on her, "Yang! The Grimm! I didn't bring my weapon," she began as panic flooded through her.

"Easy, Weiss! We don't have to worry about the Grimm," said Yang as she held both of Weiss' hands in her own, "I asked Blake and Ruby to clear out the Grimm around here while we have our date. Oh, and by the way, we owe Blake and Ruby a favor."

Weiss smirked as she leaned up closer to Yang, all traces of panic, gone, "Look at you, all organized," she teased.

"Hey! I can be organized when I want to," Yang chuckled as she brushed her nose against Weiss', "Now come on! I _know_ you're hungry."

Weiss raised her eyebrow at Yang, noticing she was not carrying any bag or basket with her. She followed her girlfriend to the lone tree on the field.

Yang winked at Weiss as she jumped up and latched onto the tree with her bare hands, climbing up to a branch and plucking a basket from it before hopping down.

Weiss looked at Yang like she was insane, "How did you get that there! Unless that food is days old in which case, I really am _not_ hungry," she said with a gag.

Yang feigned offense as she gasped and placed her free hand over her chest, "I wouldn't dream of giving my beautiful girlfriend anything that would make her tummy hurt," she grinned, maniacally.

"Yang… Why did you say it like that?" asked Weiss accusingly.

Yang continued to grin at Weiss before setting the basket on the ground and pulling a blanket from it, laying it on the ground at the base of the tree.

" _Yang?_ " the heiress asked again as Yang giggled.

Yang turned to the basket again but was quickly swept off her feet as Weiss straddled her and pinned her arms down, "Why did you say it like that!?" she laughed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Weissy," Yang giggled like a child until Weiss began to attack Yang's left rib with her delicate fingers, causing the blonde to bust out in laughter, "Wait, no! Ha ha! Weiss! I'm sorry! Ha ha ha! I j-just wanted to see how you'd react."

Satisfied with Yang's answer, Weiss relented on Yang as the blonde breathed heavily below her. She leaned down and gripped her jacket's collar, planting a kiss on her lips.

"You didn't answer my first question," Weiss said with a toothy smile.

"What?" said Yang, dazed from sensory overload.

"How'd you get the basket in the tree before we left?"

"I just told Blake to leave it up there before they started hunting," Yang wheezed as Weiss climbed off her.

"Ah, I see," said Weiss as she sat down on the blanket, "So, what did you pack?"

Yang knelt down on the blanket as she rummaged through the basket, "Well, I've got the picnic necessities: sandwiches, apples, and cookies. But in case you weren't interested in any of that, I packed your favorite salad _and_ …" Yang paused as she sifted through the basket some more, "Some black coffee! Just the way you like it!"

Weiss gasped as she took the steel thermos containing her life fluid within, " _You_ are the best!"

"I know," smirked Yang, placing the salad and a sandwich in front of her girlfriend as Weiss poured some coffee into the cap of the thermos and began to drink.

Weiss sighed in contentment as she looked out on the field before them. She closed her eyes, feeling the breeze flow through her messy bun that she had yet to restyle.

Meanwhile, Yang watched Weiss' face as she began to eat one of the sandwiches she made. Her icy blue eyes clashed so wondrously with the orange hue of the setting sun. Its light gleamed off the scarred tissue over her left eye and made it look like a crack in her face with near blinding light seeping out instead of viscous blood.

Weiss was so beautiful, especially when she looked straight into the blonde's eyes.

Smiling at the brawler, Weiss opened the container that housed her salad and began to eat it with a fork that Yang had given her.

"So," said Yang, breaking the silence, "I haven't seen you draw in a while. What's up with that?"

"I've just been so busy," sighed Weiss, "What, with the dance coming up on top of classes and homework, I haven't had much free time. The only way I want to spend any free time I have is with you."

"Although I am flattered," Yang smiled, "If you really like drawing, I don't want you to give that up just for me. All I want is for you to be happy."

Weiss smiled at her salad. The salad Yang made for her and her only.

"You know, I can count on my hand how many people can say that about me," said Weiss.

"And that's a damn shame," said Yang as she set her sandwich to the side and laid down on her back, resting her head on her hands.

"It's not a shame," said Weiss as she set her salad aside and crawled over to Yang, curling up at her side, "As long as I have you, I don't need anyone else."

Yang curled her arm around Weiss as she thought about what the heiress just said. She cared so much for Weiss and knowing that Weiss cared for her just as much made her feel so unbelievably _alive._ The blonde felt her heart beat happily in her chest as Weiss snuggled closer to her, reminding her the heiress truly did need her, and Yang needed Weiss too.

Yang let her eyes shut, listening to Weiss' breaths and the wind whispering above them. She let her fingers weave through white hair, feeling the silky-smooth texture of her locks.

She found heaven under that tree.

Yang's eyes shot open, "Oh my gosh! I almost forgot!" she shouted as she let Weiss get off her before she began looking through the basket again.

"What is it?" yawned Weiss.

Yang pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box and presented it to the heiress, "Here. I got you something."

"You got me a gift?" said Weiss, incredulously, "Yang, you really shouldn't have!"

"Go ahead and open it," smiled Yang.

Weiss smiled at Yang and carefully tore away the paper to reveal a wooden box. She set it down, slid the top off, and removed some crumpled-up paper.

Weiss gasped as her hands clasped over her mouth, tears filling her eyes, "No! I don't believe you!" she cried with joy.

"Go on! Try it out," laughed Yang.

Weiss wiped her eyes with her sleeves as she delicately removed a brand new Atlesian steel tiara from the box, it's brilliant surface instantly reflecting the golden glow of the sun that was now halfway through the horizon.

The heiress trembled as she held the tiara in her shaking hands and pulled the pin out of her messy bun, letting her platinum hair fall down her shoulders.

"Here. Let me help you," smiled Yang as she hobbled around a sobbing Weiss and made a ponytail off to the right side of her head with the tiara in it, "There. Good as new."

Yang took out her scroll and snapped a picture of Weiss and showed it to her.

The heiress took the scroll in her hand, looking at herself with an exact replica of her old tiara, miraculously fixed. She let the scroll fall to her lap as she looked up to Yang with tear-filled eyes.

Yang tilted her head and smiled fondly at Weiss.

Weiss tackled Yang to the blanket before the blonde could say anything, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she wailed, placing her lips on Yang's and pouring every ounce of gratitude and affection she had into it, "But how!? How did you afford a new tiara and an exact replica of my old one at that!?"

"Well, first of all, I didn't buy it," grinned Yang, elated by how happy she just made Weiss, "After Blake and Ruby told us they were together, I saw you looking at your broken tiara. It was then that I started trying to find you a new one, but I soon found out that there was absolutely no way I could afford one. I remember you said you made that tiara when you were younger, so I took the broken pieces of your tiara, put them back together and made a mold. Then, I melted it down and had to recast it, and let me tell you, when you said working with Atlesian steel was extremely difficult, you were _not_ kidding."

" _That's_ what you were doing every afternoon for the past week?" asked Weiss, the tears in her eyes slowly drying.

"Guilty," Yang shrugged from under Weiss.

"I can't believe you did that!" cried Weiss, tears threatening to spill again.

"You're welcome," chuckled Yang as she sat up and hugged Weiss, "Are you enjoying our date, so far?"

Weiss huffed as she hugged Yang even tighter, "This is the best date I've ever had!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	21. No Turning Back

The vast field of golden grass swayed in the cool breeze. The sun had sunk lower in the sky; its soft light had dried Weiss' face which had been wet with happy tears moments earlier.

Weiss and Yang admired the many warm colors that had coalesced in the sky as they held onto each other at the base of the lone tree.

Yang was overjoyed about how her date with Weiss was going thus far. The look on Weiss' face when she saw the tiara was unforgettable. She made a mental note to thank Ruby for helping her restore it.

Although Yang was a skilled weaponsmith and metal worker, as all huntsmen are since each one crafts their own weapon from scratch, she was nowhere near as skilled as her younger sister. The design of Ember Celica was simple compared to the likes of Crescent Rose's, but the blonde liked them that way.

Yang rested her head at the base of the tree as she pulled Weiss closer.

The heiress responded by resting her head in the crook of Yang's neck, closing her eyes while reveling in her warm body.

The brawler curled her arm around her girlfriend and rested her hand on her shoulder. Letting her own eyes flutter shut, she smirked at the thought of how many girlfriend points she got from this outing. She could not recall a time when she had seen Weiss quite this happy.

Yang suppressed a chuckle as to avoid disturbing the heiress as she remembered how terrified she was while planning this whole thing. At first, she did not think Weiss would like the idea of a picnic. The heiress was accustomed to fancy dinners and grand dining halls, after all. The more Weiss asked about what they were doing, the more Yang feared Weiss was overestimating Yang's idea of a date. She was relieved that did not end up happening.

Now she wished this day would never end, but she was well aware she would soon receive a message from Ruby saying it was time to return to campus. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in a Grimm-infested forest at night.

"Yang?" asked Weiss as she pulled herself out of the blonde's neck and sat up.

"Yeah?" asked Yang, tilting her head and sitting up, herself.

"I've been thinking… About why this date was so fantastic," sighed Weiss as she gazed out on the field at the sun that was nearly gone from the horizon.

"It's because of the present, right?" Yang chuckled.

"At first I thought so… But now I'm not so sure. I imagined you giving me this at the date _I_ planned last week," explained Weiss, briefly pointing at her repaired tiara, "And I'm certain I would have reacted much differently."

Yang raised an eyebrow, confusion evident on her face, "I don't understand. Why would you react differently at the restaurant?"

"There were other people in that restaurant, Yang. I most certainly would not have tackled you there like I did here," said Weiss, turning her gaze back to Yang.

Yang's eyes widened slightly, "So… What's your point?" she asked expectantly, "Are you saying this date was amazing because there were no other people? Because we were alone the whole time?"

"Not exactly…" Weiss murmured, "I think this date was spectacular because we weren't worried about hiding our relationship at all. Out here, we were able to be girlfriends while leaving everyone in the world none the wiser."

Yang barely held in a shout of joy at what Weiss was telling her. Could it be that Weiss no longer wanted to hide what they had together from the world?

"I agree completely!" grinned Yang, "Maybe we could... Work on telling a few more people about us?" she tried, doing her best to copy Ruby's puppy dog eyes.

Weiss sighed as she scooted closer to Yang and rested her head on her shoulder, "I know you really want to go public, and I do too. It's just that… I'm afraid. I haven't received a single call from my father for weeks! What if he's plotting something? Right now would be the _worst_ time to go public!"

Yang thought carefully about what she would say next. She knew this was a sensitive topic for Weiss, so she would have to say just the right thing to push her in the right direction. Unfortunately, there were few things Yang could say to relieve the poor girl of her fears of her father. She had not even met the man; all she knew were stories of his infamous and monstrous acts as the chief executive officer of the SDC.

"Weiss, you are one of the strongest people I've ever met. If your dad really _is_ plotting something, you can totally handle him," said Yang with a smile.

"That's the problem!" shouted Weiss as she stood up from her seat beside Yang and began to pace, causing the blonde to flinch at her error, "I'm afraid of him because I _can't_ handle him! All my life, I was raised to be the perfect little princess who wasn't allowed to mess up! My father would constantly be furious about _something_ or other, and that made for a _very_ hard childhood! Every time I looked him in the face, I felt afraid! Afraid that he would shout at me or worse: tell me how disappointed he was with me! I only felt fear and hatred from him when all I wanted was love and compassion!" she shouted and looked at Yang, her vision, blurred. She did not realize she had started crying until now, "But the only thing he loves is that stupid company…" she said bitterly.

Yang was heartbroken to hear that Weiss was denied so much as a growing child. She could not imagine wow horribly she and Ruby would have turned out if her own father never said he loved them, especially after their mom died.

Weiss angrily wiped her eyes with her jacket's sleeves as she continued to pace in front of Yang. Her anger was almost tangible, and Yang could feel it.

The brawler could tell Weiss was not happy that she had let her true feelings about her father be shown. She knew Weiss was a stubborn and defiant person, which made getting close to her difficult, but it also worked to keep Weiss from giving in to anything she did not want to. Jacques Schnee was one of those things.

"Maybe your dad deprived you of love when you were younger, but you can't let him deprive you of love while you're here, Weiss," said Yang as she stood up from her spot on the ground, "If you want my opinion, I think the best thing you can do to shake yourself out of his grasp is to start living for yourself instead of living for him," she offered, holding out a hand to her girlfriend.

Weiss looked at the blonde, then at her outstretched hand, and finally back to Yang. She clenched her jaw, grinding her teeth as her head turned into a battlefield. There was too much at risk! Too much to lose! How could she possibly defy her father?

"Yang, I d-don't…" stammered Weiss.

"Weiss, look at me," said Yang as she lifted Weiss' chin up so their eyes could meet, "If your dad _does_ find out about us, I'll be with you every step of the way. We will face him, together."

Yang watched Weiss' face as the war continued to wage in her mind. The heiress' face showed her strife as she bit down on her cheek, desperately trying to make up her mind. All Yang could do was hope she had said the right thing.

At last, Weiss closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Jaune's team should be the first to know," mumbled Weiss as she opened her eyes.

* * *

Weiss walked quietly down the hall of the dorm building with Yang at her side. The motorcycle ride back was an empty husk of the experience Weiss had on the way to the field. Instead of loud laughing and blissful happiness, there was unbearable silence and inconsolable dread.

If Weiss would be honest with herself, she acutely did not want to go public. At least, not now. She only agreed to go public because she was sick and tired of her father ruining not only _her_ relationship but _Yang's_ relationship as well. Frankly, Yang deserved to be able to show how much she cares for her girlfriend wherever she is.

Weiss found it admirable and heartwarming that Yang would put up with everything she asked her to. All so she would feel at ease.

The heiress cracked a small smile, turning her head away from her beautiful blonde oaf so she would not see it. She had always found it astonishing that thinking about Yang could cheer her up in an instant, but this time was different. Before, her worries would wash away completely for as long as she imagined Yang's warm smile, but this time, the anxious tension felt compressed and settled in the pit of her stomach. It was not as noticeable as it was before, but it was definitely still there.

_Maybe this won't be so bad…_

Yang almost instantly noticed the minuscule smile the heiress now wore on her face and felt the urge to smile herself. Naturally, she could not resist.

Coming up on the dorm room, Weiss unlocked the door and entered. The sky, now completely dark except for the bright shattered moon, could be seen through the glass window that had been left open.

The heiress shivered at the chilled, night air that had leaked into the dorm and looked around, noticing the absence of her two other teammates.

"Ugh, who left the window open," Yang groaned as she closed the window and drew the curtains closed.

"Yang, where are Blake and Ruby?" asked Weiss, concern filling her voice.

"Don't worry, they just sent me a message. They're on campus now," explained Yang as she stretched her arms high above her head and let out a long, drawn-out yawn.

Weiss watched as more of the creamy skin of Yang's toned midriff inched out of its clothed cage. Biting her lip, she looked away before Yang could catch her looking.

"Man, I am beat," sighed Yang as she kicked off her boots and pulled out her pajamas from a drawer.

Weiss did the same, nodding in agreement and turning around to find Yang facing Blake's bed.

Her jacket and tank top lay on the bed while Yang unhooked her bra and set it next to the rest of her clothes.

Weiss froze as she watched the muscles of Yang's toned back and shoulders flex and move while Yang pulled the top she usually wore to bed over her chest. The heiress was about to turn back to her own bed and pretend she did not see that until she heard Yang unclasp her belt and slide her shorts and skirt down to her ankles, revealing her shapely rear end, snuggly wrapped in a pair of purple panties.

Weiss froze all over again as Yang stepped into a pair of black shorts, pulling them up her slim, muscular legs all the way to her bottom. She bit her lip as the fabric seemed to have a hard time slipping over Yang's firm, round posterior.

Weiss forced herself to turn around at the tingling feeling in her stomach and the dull ache in her core. She let out a deep breath to calm herself as she gripped Ruby's bed for support. Gods it was beautiful, but it was just too much for her to handle in this state!

"Weiss? Are you okay?" asked Yang from behind her, placing a hand on her lower back and sending shivers through her spine.

The heiress took another deep breath and shut her eyes tightly, "I'm fine. I'm just… Cold."

"Maybe you should get changed and all cozy in your bed then, Babe," Yang giggled as she walked into the bathroom, her hips, swaying subtly.

Weiss sighed as she rubbed her face with one hand while the other continued to use Ruby's bed as support to keep her legs from buckling. She could not believe how much Yang's butt had flustered her. She would never get that heavenly image out of her head, not that she minded. She knew she would have to find a way to deal with her recent… Urges soon.

The heiress waited until she was certain she would not fall to release her grasp on Ruby's bed and disrobed before slipping into her nightgown. Having calmed down considerably, she took out her medication and swallowed one pill dry.

"I think I'll just hit the hay right now, Weiss," yawned Yang, who had left the bathroom and was now walking towards her bed.

The blonde slipped Ember Celica off her wrists and placed them on the dresser before reaching up to her bunk.

"Wait," said Weiss, hastily.

Yang turned towards her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow, "What's up?"

"Come sleep in my bed," said Weiss as she moved the covers on her bed and slipped in, "I need your body heat."

Yang smirked as she switched the light off and walked towards Weiss, "Is that the _only_ reason you want me in your bed?"

Weiss looked at the blonde through the dark, unamused as she sat up and lifted the covers, "You better get in here before my offer expires."

The brawler wasted no time and all but hopped into Weiss' bed, "Come 'ere, you," she giggled as she wrapped her strong arms around Weiss' small frame.

The heiress giggled as Yang planted kiss after kiss on her cheeks and face, "Yang, stop it! I invited you into my bed to sleep, not to kiss."

"Aw, but we could kiss a little bit, right? Pretty please?" begged Yang with a sultry tone as she cupped Weiss' cheek in her hand.

Weiss gazed into Yang's moonlit, lilac irises as she became breathless, "I suppose just _one_ kiss wouldn't…" she trailed off as her eyes fluttered closed, and she pressed her lips onto Yang's.

Without parting from the heiress, Yang pulled her down onto the bed, so they were both laying on their sides as she raised the covers up to their chests. The 'one kiss' suddenly turned into two, then three, until the two girls were locked in a fierce clashing of tongues.

Weiss' sucked in as much air as she could between kisses as Yang press her body closer to hers and weaved her fingers through Weiss' platinum locks. Her head felt light as a feather and she quickly became dizzy thanks to her scant breathing and the sleeping medication she had just taken. She felt so alive.

It was not long before Yang slipped her thigh between the heiress' legs and pushed it against her.

Weiss gasped and pushed Yang's leg away as she put a small gap in between them.

"Y-yang, I'm really tired right now. We should get some rest for tomorrow," stammered Weiss as she realized she had gone much farther with the kiss than she wanted to.

Yang looked at Weiss, confused and almost disappointed, "Oh, yeah, I guess you're right. We _do_ have some pretty big news to share tomorrow, and we don't want to miss team JNPR at breakfast," she said in her usual, cheerful voice.

Weiss internally cringed at the reminder of her predicament, "Spoon me?" she asked as she rolled around and faced the wall.

"Did you even have to ask?" Yang asked back as she curled her arm around Weiss and pulled her closer.

Weiss hummed in response as she let her eyes shut. She was thankful for the small distraction from her worries, but of course, they were destined to nip at her again. She could not help but feel like the next morning would go terribly, and she wanted to play it safe and tell Yang to wait a little longer so she did not have to worry about her father tearing them apart. She knew she could not do that to Yang now, so she forced herself into believing she could do this and tell the world she was dating a beautiful woman named Yang Xiao Long.

* * *

Weiss let in a sharp gasp as she jerked herself awake. The only thing stopping her from falling off her bed was a strong arm wrapped around her torso.

She carefully moved Yang's arm before sitting up in her bed, the morning light just barely shining through the curtains. She wiped a hand over her face, feeling the cold sweat that was caked on her skin.

_The same nightmare as before… Why is this happening to me?_

"Weiss?" said Yang in a groggy voice as she rubbed her eyes, "What happened? You're shaking."

Weiss looked at Yang and wrapped her arms around herself, "The nightmare… Those memories… It happened again."

Yang thought for a moment, "Was it exactly the same, or did anything change?" she asked.

"I can't say for sure," admitted Weiss, "I don't remember many of the minute details from the last time I went through this."

"Hmm," hummed Yang as she scratched her head, "I'm sorry you had to go through that again."

"Why are you guys talking so loudly," groaned a certain, sleepy faunus from the other side of the room.

"Sorry, Blake. Weiss just had that nightmare again," frowned Yang as Weiss uncomfortably combed her fingers through her platinum hair.

Blake propped herself on her elbow and squinted at the two girls, "You're having recurring nightmares, Weiss?" she asked.

"Well, I've only had it twice so far. I'm uncertain if you could call it a recurring nightmare just yet," sighed Weiss.

"Are you feeling overstressed or anxious? Perhaps depressed?" interrogated Blake.

Weiss raised an eyebrow and studied Blake, "Since when did you become a psychiatrist?" she chuckled.

"I'm far from a psychiatrist. Just answer the question," said Blake.

"Not at all," Weiss lied, "Why do you ask?"

"When I joined the White Fang, all I thought about was how disappointed my parents would be for using violence to get what we wanted. I would have recurring nightmares about them. Eventually, I identified high levels of stress and anxiety as causes for them. I find it strange that you are having them without feeling stressed out. Maybe there are other causes…" Blake trailed off.

Weiss mentally sighed.

_Or, you could be totally right._

It was not that Weiss did not trust Blake enough to hide her mental state. She simply did not want her friends to worry about her today. Perhaps the heiress thought if she could convince her team she was fine with outing herself as a bisexual and currently in a relationship with another girl, she could convince herself, as well.

"Maybe Weiss' nightmare isn't recurring, and it just happened for a second time for no reason?" asked Yang, looking at Blake.

"Why are you looking at me? I don't know. It's not like I have psychiatric training or anything," said Blake as she rolled her eyes and picked up a book from the dresser.

"Oh! Blake! Don't start reading!" chirped Yang as she jumped out of Weiss' bed, "What time is it?"

"A quarter to nine," answered Blake, "Do you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Nope!" said Yang, "Not yet at least. We need to catch Jaune's team at breakfast, so we can tell them Weiss and I are dating."

"Really?" Blake smiled at Weiss, who had been quiet for a while, "And _you_ are okay with this?"

"Yes," Weiss answered curtly as she climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

"She doesn't seem to be all that thrilled about it, Yang. Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Blake.

"Absolutely! She was the one who brought them up," said Yang as she shook Ruby's bed to wake up her sister, "I think she was just as sick of pretending we were just friends around other people as I was, so she said she wanted to tell team JNPR about us. But we're not stopping with them. We're going public with our relationship today!"

Ruby gasped loudly, now completely awake, "Finally! Now we can go on that double date!"

"Weiss _really_ agreed to that?" asked Blake, ignoring Ruby's outburst.

"Yeah," said Yang, "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"It took a whole month for Weiss to be comfortable enough to tell the rest of her team. It's been, what, two weeks since then?" said Blake.

Yang's brows furrowed as she considered Blake's argument. She _did_ have a point.

"She _was_ hesitant at first…" Yang though aloud with a frown, "I'll ask Weiss again when she comes back."

"Ask me what?" asked Weiss with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

Yang turned to meet Weiss' gaze, "I wanted to ask you if you really wanted to go through with this."

Weiss stopped brushing her teeth, examining Yang's wide, hopeful eyes as they anxiously awaited her answer. She noticed Yang's foot began to tap briskly and she was currently holding her breath.

It took only the look on Yang's face for Weiss to know that turning back on her decision _now_ would surely crush her.

Weiss plucked the brush from her mouth, so she could speak properly, "I've already made up my mind. I just want to tell our closest friends first," she sighed.

"Are you sure?" asked Yang with a smile.

Weiss scoffed, annoyance hinting on her features. Was Yang _trying_ to make her change her mind?

"Yes, _Yang._ I'm sure," sneered Weiss as she flashed an exaggerated smile before entering the bathroom again with a change of clothes in her hand.

Yang cringed at Weiss' attitude and looked back at Blake, "Guys… I don't think Weiss really wants to do this anymore."

"It would seem so," Blake sighed as she cracked open her book.

"Did she seem mad? I hope she's not mad at me…" Yang thought aloud.

"I don't know, Yang. Honestly, it's been so long since I've seen Weiss angry that I don't know what it looks like anymore," shrugged Ruby.

"Please help me, Blake?" Yang begged, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Not to be curt, but this is between you and your girlfriend," said Blake, curtly, "I would rather not get involved."

Yang slouched over and pouted at Ruby, "Rubes? Help me?"

Ruby smiled sheepishly as she leaned over the edge of her bed, "Sorry Yang, but Weiss hasn't yelled at me in months. I'd like to keep that streak going if you don't mind."

Yang opened her mouth to complain, but held her tongue, "T-that's a fair point," she stammered.

"If you want my advice, you should just talk to her," offered Blake as she stood up from her bed, "Ruby and I can get dressed in the bathroom room down the hall to give you some privacy."

Yang sighed as she began to play with her blonde mane, "Yeah… Thanks, Blake," she said.

"Don't worry, Yang," chirped Ruby as she hopped off her bed to follow Blake, "Weiss isn't mad at you… Yet."

Yang looked at Ruby, an unamused expression on her face, "Thanks, Sis. That was _super_ helpful."

"Good luck!" called Ruby, shutting the door behind herself and Blake.

Yang sat on Weiss' bed, awaiting the heiress' exit from the bathroom. She could hear the water from the shower, and a soft voice singing a tune now that it was quiet in the dorm.

Ironic how the person who was troubling her was the same person to ease her with a quiet melody.

Yang rested her eyes as she concentrated on Weiss' muffled voice, letting her mind wander. It was when she heard the bathroom door swing open that she opened her eyes.

"Weiss?" asked Yang, getting the heiress' attention while she was brushing her hair, "Can we talk?"

Weiss groaned as she narrowed her eyes at the brawler, "If this is about going public, I'll remind you that I've already made up my mind."

"Actually, I wanted to ask you if we could _only_ tell team JNPR and wait a while longer to go public," offered Yang.

Weiss snapped her attention to Yang, "What? Why? I thought you _wanted_ to go public?"

"I do," said Yang, rising from her seat, "But not if it's going to trouble you so badly."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Yang again as she pointed a finger at her, "I am _not_ troubled!"

"Weiss, you've angrily narrowed your eyes at me twice in the last thirty seconds. Before today, the last time I remember you doing that was before I found your scar."

Weiss frowned and looked at her toes, "I don't understand, Yang. Why are you making it so hard for me to make _you_ happy for a change?"

Yang furrowed her brows and lifted Weiss' chin up, "What are you talking about?"

Weiss bit her cheek and attempted to turn away, "You… You wouldn't understand."

"Weiss, remember your promise. _Please…_ Tell me what's on your mind," pleaded Yang, not letting Weiss look away from her, "What we have will only work if we work together."

Weiss hesitated for a moment before looking away and taking a deep breath.

"You've been trusting _my_ judgment about this whole situation for months, now. I know you don't like hiding our relationship, and I felt like I wasn't being fair to you," Weiss sighed, "That's why I wanted to go public today. I just wanted to make you happy."

Yang chuckled, causing Weiss to scowl at her.

"Woah there. Before you get mad at me, let me explain myself," Yang smirked, "Last night, after I gave you the new tiara, I realized something. I realized that seeing _you_ happy makes _me_ happy."

Yang grimaced at the look of disbelief on her girlfriend's face. She could now tell Weiss was not in the mood for one of her vague and sentimental answers. Yang reasoned what Weiss wanted was for her to be honest with Weiss, too.

"But, if you really _do_ want to make me happy, I want team JNPR to know about us now," Yang added on, "I'm perfectly fine with waiting longer to go the whole nine yards with this."

That seemed to do the trick as Weiss closed her mouth, and her creased eyebrows slowly relaxed. It looked like Weiss would get to follow her gut after all.

"Okay," said Weiss, cracking a small smile, "Thank you for telling me what you wanted."

"No problem," smiled Yang as she planted a chaste kiss on Weiss' lips, "We've got to hurry if we want to catch Jaune's team at breakfast."

"You're the one who's not even dressed yet," Weiss teased.

"Oh, crap! You're right!" yelped Yang as she hastily changed her clothes while Weiss averted her gaze.

The heiress felt her mood improve immensely. Going public was not worth all the anxiety.

"Come on," sputtered Yang, placing her hand on Weiss' lower back as she opened the dorm room door, "Blake and Ruby are probably already there with team JNPR."

* * *

Yang all but burst through the doors of the dining hall with her girlfriend not far behind.

"Hey, guys!" called Yang as she jogged over towards the table her friends were sitting at, "I'm glad Weiss and I caught you."

"Hey, Yang. I was wondering where you were," said Jaune as Yang and Weiss sat down.

"I thought she was going to skip breakfast!" said Nora, "And I almost freaked out because Yang _never_ misses breakfast!"

"Correction," said Ren, "Nora did in fact freak out."

"It took Pyrrha a hot minute to get her under control," chuckled Jaune.

"Oh, it was much longer than a hot minute," sighed Pyrrha.

"Anyway, now that we're all here, Weiss and I have something we'd like to tell you," grinned Yang.

"Oh! Is it about the dance?" asked Pyrrha, excitedly.

"I'm afraid not," answered Weiss, "Details on that soon, though."

"Well, don't keep us waiting! Spill the beans, Blondie!" demanded Nora, slamming her fists on the table.

"I think Nora wants you to tell her, Yang," said Blake, sardonically, as Ruby giggled beside her.

Yang flashed Weiss a wide smile, "Do you want to say it or should I," she said excitedly.

"I think you will enjoy 'spilling the beans,' as Nora put it, more than I will," smirked Weiss.

"Tell us already! I _need_ to know!" groaned Nora as she flopped her torso into the table.

"Nora, would you please quiet down?" asked Ren before Nora nodded her head, exuberantly, "Please continue, Yang."

"Thank you, Ren," grinned Yang, excitement building in her chest, "We're dating!" she said in a hushed voice.

"Really? I would have never guessed," said Pyrrha as Nora seemed to freeze.

"Yeah, didn't you guys, like, hate each other a month ago?" asked Jaune.

Weiss opened her mouth to answer. Unfortunately, Nora had other ideas.

"WEISS AND YANG ARE DATING!?" shrieked Nora as she practically jumped onto the table.

Weiss and Yang froze in their seats, stiff and ridged. Weiss could hear people talking behind them. She turned around and saw a full cafeteria of students and a few professors all watching their every move.

_They know._

Weiss slowly turned back to the table, a bottomless pit forming in her stomach. Father will find out. He will ruin everything.

"W-what's wrong with them?" asked Jaune.

Blake, who also looked quite shaken by Nora's outburst, set down her book, "Yang and Weiss' relationship was a close kept secret… Until now, that is."

Weiss looked at Yang, hoping for her to say _something… Anything_ to make her feel better.

"Yang…" Weiss squeaked.

Yang snapped out of her own trance as she turned to face the heiress, "I guess we should have told them our news was a secret first," she laughed humorlessly, "Don't worry, Weiss. Remember what I said: If your dad really wants to do anything to you… We will face him, together."

Yang's words should have given her some hope for the future.

But she felt no such hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	22. Trapped

Most people see loneliness as something detrimental to their lives. They have no one to company them or sympathize with them, and they begin to feel unhappy; forgotten, so they seek others because they believe some company will cure them of their loneliness.

The Schnee heiress, however, relished in her loneliness. She did not discern the value of having company to hinder her thoughts. The time she had to herself was almost sacred to her since she was _constantly_ trapped within a white prison with kin who were _constantly_ condescending and intolerant.

Which is why she was not exactly thrilled when someone sat beside her while she was quietly admiring the view from the balcony on one of the Schnee manor's many towers.

"Good afternoon, Sister," said Weiss' visitor as he looked out on the landscape in front of them.

"Hello, Whitley," sighed Weiss.

"Enjoying the view, I see," smirked Whitley.

"I was," said Weiss as she glanced at her brother.

Whitley raised an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his face, "Tell me, my dear sister: how long, exactly, have you been up here?"

"How long, exactly, will it take you to leave so I may get back to what I was doing?" Weiss mocked.

"And what _were_ you doing, all alone?" chuckled Whitley as Weiss narrowed her eyes at him, "Besides enjoying the view, of course."

"I do as I please, Whitley," said Weiss, bitterly ignoring the question.

"Why the harsh tone? I'm only asking what you were doing," smirked Whitley, "But, to answer the question, the main reason I am here is to inform you that Father wishes to speak with you."

"Why is it that _you_ are always the one to tell me when Father calls for me?" said Weiss.

"Whatever do you mean, Sister?" asked Whitley.

"Why do you enjoy tormenting me so much?" Weiss changed the question, "You know how horrible Father can be, yet you smile and observe whenever it is I that must face his wrath."

"You mistake my intent, dearest sister," Whitley grinned, "I do not 'smile and observe' with the aim to _torment_ you."

"Then enlighten me, _B_ _rother_. Why _do_ you watch our interactions so closely?" asked Weiss, eyeing Whitley, dangerously.

"I observe for the same reason anyone would observe anything," said Whitley, smugly, "I am simply gathering… _Information._ Call it a learning experience."

Weiss looked at her smiling brother cautiously, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Whitley chuckled to himself as he gazed over the railing of the balcony, "I suppose that is for me to know and for you to find out," he grinned, "I would go soon if I were you. It would be unwise to keep Father waiting."

Weiss glared at Whitley before rising from her seat and making her way back inside of the manor. She sighed and shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind of any lingering thoughts.

The end of all this was in sight. All she had to do now was pass her entrance exam and she could escape this _hell_ while she studied at Beacon Academy in Vale.

The heiress walked through the clean halls of the Schnee manor, her chin up and shoulders squared. Soon, she would be in control, so it was time to act like it.

She stood in front of the dark, wooden door that always seemed indomitable. Its shiny finish was almost like a mirror but provided much less clarity.

She knocked and entered when she heard her father answer.

"Ah, Weiss," said Jacques Schnee while sitting at his desk, looking up from his work.

"You called for me, Father?" asked Weiss as she stood before her father's desk and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Yes… I did," said the aging man as he stood from his seat and turned around to admire a grand portrait of himself from his younger years that hung on the wall, "So… You have chosen to pursue a career as a huntress at Beacon Academy."

"Yes, Father."

"I see," said Jacques as he folded his arms behind himself.

Weiss watched her father, intently. She could not see his face, so it was difficult to tell if he was upset by this news.

"Do you remember what Nicholas Schnee said to me when he bestowed on me this _extraordinary_ company, my dear?" said Jacques.

"Yes, Father. He said—"

"He said there is only _one_ kind of people that are great enough in everything they do to _change_ the world. Those people are the Schnees," Jacques interrupted, "Unlike the rest of this family, I _earned_ the name. Your grandfather sought me out and recognized my resolve and tenacity. He rewarded me with the company and your mother's hand in marriage."

"I remember, Father," said Weiss, refusing to let any anxiousness seep into her expression.

Jacques turned around to look his daughter in the eye, "You are a Schnee. You must have the same resolve and tenacity as I do, especially now."

Weiss stood up straight as Jacques walked around his desk and stood before her, "The people of Vale only know us Schnees by one thing: _dust._ We supply all of Remnant with dust, but only Atlas truly knows us by the traits I mentioned," said Jacques as he stepped beside Weiss and turned his head so he was nearly speaking into her ear, "You will be the first Schnee in the history of this company to visit Vale for an extended period of time. You will live and learn among the people of Vale. You will be the only Schnee they have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"Forgive me. I don't follow," whispered Weiss.

Jacques eyed his frozen daughter for a moment before speaking, "As heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, _you_ represent the stature of the family business in Vale. Any mistake, any mishap, and the reputation of our company would be run through the muck," said the man before he turned away from Weiss.

Weiss bit her cheek as her father slowly moved around his desk and sat down, resting his elbows on the surface and clasping his hands in front of his mouth. She did not like what she was hearing one bit.

"I'll do my best, Father," said Weiss as she turned to leave.

"I'm sure you will, but I promise you this," said Jacques, prompting Weiss to face him again, "If I ever receive word of you doing or saying anything… _U_ _ndesirable_ … Let's just say Atlas Academy would be happy to admit you into their ranks in the event you find Beacon to be _unsatisfactory._ Do you understand?" Jacques cooed dangerously.

Weiss froze in her place, her mouth ajar. 

_He can't do that! It's my choice to go wherever I please for my training! ...I was supposed to be free from him…_

"Weiss. Doyou _understand_ what I'm telling you?" growled the man.

Weiss closed her mouth and frowned at Jacques, "Yes, Father," she muttered as it dawned on her that her freedom would have to wait.

* * *

"What are you doing!?" shouted Weiss, her voice booming through the dance hall that was buzzing with dozens of workers, "The speakers go in the back of the hall, not the front!"

"Sorry, Miss. It was an honest mistake," said a short man with a clipboard.

"An honest mistake? How could it have been an honest mistake if I've supplied you with a detailed layout of everything?" shouted the heiress, "You would have to _try_ to mess it up!"

"You mean the blueprints you gave us? We don't have them anymore," informed the man.

"What do you mean you 'don't have them anymore!' What happened to them!?" demanded Weiss with a deadly glare.

"Bill said he needed them for something outside," said the man, hiding behind his clipboard.

"What is your name!?"

"Jeremy, ma'am," said the man.

"Well, Jeremy. Go find Bill and tell him to bring the damn prints back here! I told all of you we would be decorating the outside tomorrow!" screeched Weiss.

"Yes, ma'am," quivered Jeremy as he all but ran out of the dance hall.

"Idiots! The lot of you!" growled Weiss as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Where in Remnant did Yang even find these incompetent _dimwits!"_

Weiss stomped to one of the tables that had been set up on the wall and sat on it. She was fuming quietly as her thoughts ravaged her mind.

Today marked the end of the second week of her relationship with Yang becoming public knowledge. At least public knowledge in _Vale._

After Nora blew their secret in the dining hall, word traveled like wildfire throughout the city.

During her most recent trip to Vale to get more medication, Weiss was met with countless stray glances and gawking stares. Yang was receiving much of the same, but the citizens were not met with death glares from her like they were with Weiss.

Citizens would approach her and ask question after question, and Yang refused to say anything at first. As time passed, and her worries about Weiss' father subsided, Yang began to boast about her relationship, much to her girlfriend's chagrin.

This whole endeavor was stressful _before_ the entire city knew about them, but now? Weiss was barely hanging on. She was constantly paranoid and on edge, like her father was always watching her, waiting for the perfect time to strike like some predator.

The man had stopped calling her weeks ago, and now that the secret was out, she was waiting for a call she was sure would receive eventually.

Her nightmares had become a regular occurrence; waking her up nearly every other night much earlier than she would ever care to.

All that on top of the dance only being a week away and decorations being nowhere near complete was driving Weiss insane. Yang said she would find people to help them decorate, and now she had to deal with a bunch of imbeciles too.

The heiress began to snap at strangers and colleagues but was always careful to hold her tongue when talking to the friends she held so dear to her. She was, without a doubt, frustrated with a certain energetic, hammer-wielding, redhead, but she knew to confront her about it would be futile. That girl was _impossible._

"Where is Yang, anyway?" Weiss wondered aloud.

She looked around the hall, searching for a head of bright golden hair among all the workers, ladders, and machinery.

"You there!" called Weiss to a woman carrying a fog machine, "Have you seen Yang at all today?"

"Yeah, she came by for a minute a little while ago. She said she wouldn't be back until later," said the woman, indifferently.

"How long is _'until later?'_ " scowled Weiss.

The woman shrugged and walked off with the fog machine.

Weiss huffed as she pulled out her scroll, "I swear when I see that _oaf_ I am going to chain her to the door!" she grumbled as she put her scroll to her ear.

"Hey, Weiss," said a voice from behind her.

Weiss turned to find Yang with a smile on her face, "There you are! Where have you been!?" she chided as she removed the scroll from her cheek.

"I was out getting food for you. You know, since you haven't _eaten_ all day," smirked Yang.

"Don't be ridiculous. I had coffee this morning," said Weiss, folding her arms.

Yang chuckled as she raised an eyebrow, "So, you haven't eaten all day," she repeated.

Weiss pouted angrily as she turned and walked towards the back of the hall, "I'm not hungry," she said, brusquely.

Yang sighed and placed a hand on her hip, "Everyone, take an extra hour for lunch starting now!" she shouted so all the workers could hear her.

One by one, the workers funneled out of the hall.

"Yang, what are you _doing!?_ We need them here!" shouted Weiss as she stomped up to the blonde.

"It's time for you to take a break," said Yang, calmly, as she grasped Weiss' shoulders.

Weiss smacked Yang's hands away and pointed a finger in her face, "Need I remind you we have only _one_ more week until the dance!? Look around, Yang! We are barely going to make it at this rate and we _still_ need to have Roman's dragon shipped and assembled here!"

Weiss' stomach rumbled loudly in the absence of any noise from the workers causing Yang to grin widely.

"Come on," smiled Yang as she wrapped an arm around a blushing heiress, "Let's go."

Weiss moved Yang's arm from around her with a scowl but decided to hold the blonde's hand instead.

Yang glanced at her scowling girlfriend, not at all fazed by her sour attitude, "We will get the dance hall ready in time, okay? Trust me."

The heiress briefly looked up at Yang before frowning and turning away.

As they followed the path back to campus, the scowl on Weiss' face slowly returned.

Weiss narrowed her eyes as Yang lead her past the dining hall and towards the garden.

"Yang, why are we going to the garden?" asked Weiss.

"You'll see," smirked Yang as she opened the gate and allowed Weiss to enter before her.

In the garden were flowers, bushes, and several tables that were provided shade by some trees. There was a small stone structure that looked almost like a small house but with several pillars instead of walls. Surrounding the entire, small garden was a green hedge that gave them and the six other people in it some privacy.

"Weiss! We are so very glad you decided to come," said Pyrrha as she broke off from the rest of her team and lead Weiss further into the garden.

Weiss scrunched her eyebrows together as she spotted Ruby and Blake sitting at a table with everyone else, "What _is_ this," she mumbled.

"Well," said Jaune as he stood from the table, "We know you've been really stressed out for the past few weeks, and we thought you could use a break to relax and have a bite to eat with your friends."

"Indeed," said Ren as he gestured towards the stone structure, "We catered food from several Atlesian restaurants in Vale for you. I even tried my hand at cooking a few delicacies."

"Can we _please_ eat already! All this talk of food is making mama _hungry!"_ shouted Nora as she jumped up from her seat.

Weiss ground her teeth at Nora's outburst as she walked into the stone structure and inspected the lineup of food, her scowl never faltering. There were several of her favorite dishes, and she reasoned that Yang had probably told everyone what they should have ordered.

"I am grateful that you all would do this for me, but you should not have wasted your money and, more importantly, you should not have wasted my _time_ ," said Weiss as she began to move toward the exit.

"Oh, come on!" groaned Nora as she planted herself in front of the heiress, "Why did you have to turn back into the old _Ice Queen_ _!_ Are you really _still_ mad about what happened, like, a month ago?"

Weiss stared down the energetic redhead as her scowl morphed into something more dangerous, "Your _outburst_ happened two weeks ago, _dunce._ Maybe if you weren't such a damn _loudmouth_ I would be in a better mood at the moment," she snapped as she shoved the immovable girl to the side.

"Hey, Weiss! That was completely uncalled for! She is trying to do something nice for you as an apology," said Jaune.

Weiss swiftly turned around to face Jaune, who stood a few yards away, "Really? _Nora_ is doing this as an apology? You deceive yourself if you really believe that to be the case."

"Even then, you can't blame Nora for accidentally blowing your stupid secret! It was an honest mistake!" shouted Jaune as Pyrrha set a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"You know what!?" said Weiss, her voice rising slightly.

"Weiss…" whispered Yang as she tried to set her hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"You are right!" shouted Weiss as she shrugged Yang's hand away, "I can't blame Nora since she's a mindless numbskull! It's _your_ fault because you are a failure of a leader, and you are just as daft as Nora is! You couldn't keep your team in check if your life depended on it!"

"Weiss," repeated Yang, louder than before.

Jaune sat down in his seat, his expression, dejected, as Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at Weiss, "You have _no right_ to say that to him, Weiss. Maybe if you were less secretive about your feelings for Yang, you wouldn't be feeling this way in the first place."

Weiss had to try her hardest to not double over in laughter, "Look who's talking, Pyrrha!" she shouted, _"Everyone_ knows you are head over heels for Jaune _except_ for Jaune! Maybe if _you_ were 'less secretive' about your feelings for Jaune, he would be able to get it through his thick skull that you want to be with him! I haven't the slightest clue as to _why_ you would want to be with such a dimwit anyway."

"Weiss!" shouted Yang as she put herself between Weiss and their friends, "What has gotten into you!?"

Weiss looked into Yang's eyes with that dangerous look on her face until it slowly faded back into a scowl.

"If you would excuse me, I have much work to do," said Weiss, scornfully as she turned on her heel and barged through the gate.

Yang looked at team JNPR, Ruby, and Blake, all stunned into silence, "Guys, I am so sorry about her. You have to understand that she is under a ton of pressure and super stressed out right now," explained Yang.

"Just go talk to her, Yang," said Nora, brusquely, all exuberance gone from her demeanor as she did her best to comfort a madly blushing Pyrrha and a downtrodden Jaune.

Yang nodded to her friends and walked through the gate, making her way back to the dance hall. When she arrived, she found Weiss trying to set up a light by herself since all the workers were on their extended lunch break.

"Work, damn you!" shouted Weiss as she fumbled with the light's wiring.

"Weiss," said Yang as she came up behind the heiress.

Weiss looked behind her for a moment before returning to her work, "So you've come to help me at last. It's about time."

Yang plucked the light from Weiss' hands and set it on a table behind her, "You said some very unkind things to our _friends_ a few minutes ago. Do you want to tell me why?" she said.

"They were wasting my valuable time with an apology meal and proceeded to tell me my attitude is _my_ fault? I will not have it!" said Weiss as she tried to grab the light.

Yang moved into Weiss' way, blocking her hand, "But your attitude _is_ your fault. You've been hostile towards everyone for no reason ever since our secret got out!" she said as a hint of anger seeped into her expression.

Weiss glared at Yang as she waved a hand through the air, "Have you forgotten _why_ I wanted to keep us a secret?" said Weiss, bitterly.

"Don't you think that if your dad found out and wanted to do something about it, he would have done it by now? Should he really be stressing you out this much?" Yang asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes! And he should be stressing you out too if you _really_ cared about me!" shrieked Weiss.

Yang's expression softened slightly as she let her arms hang at her sides, "What are you talking about?"

Weiss sighed as she sat down at the table behind Yang and waited to speak until Yang sat beside her, "Everything I've grown to care about here at Beacon will be lost to me if my father found out I am dating you. He promised me that if I messed up even once and he got word of it, he would pull me out of this school and force me to attend Atlas Academy," she nearly whispered, "I would never see any of you again, a-and… I _can't_ lose you, Yang!"

Yang shook her head in disbelief as she watched tears well up in Weiss' eyes. How could anyone be such a monster as to bring so much pain to this girl? There is no way such a person could exist.

"Weiss… I don't believe your dad, let alone _anyone,_ could do something so horrible," said Yang, as she looked away from her girlfriend.

Weiss looked at Yang's face, a look of betrayal on her own, "What are you saying? You don't trust me? Do you think I would _lie_ to you about my father?" Weiss asked.

Yang instantly locked eyes with Weiss, "No!" she nearly shouted, "Of course I trust you! I just think you might be… _Exaggerating_ a little."

Weiss' face momentarily flashed to an expression of hurt before the scowl returned, "You've helped enough around here for today," she said as she stood up from her chair, the screeching of its legs on the floor making Yang cringe, "Go back to the dorm so I may be productive," she wiped her eyes with her sleeves.

"Weiss, I—"

"Leave!" said Weiss with a firm voice, leaving no room for argument.

Yang frowned at her girlfriend as she stood up and trudged out of the dance hall.

She knew Weiss needed time to cool off.

* * *

"I just don't know what else I can say to her," sighed Yang as she paced in the dorm room, "I can tell she's really stressed about this, but I don't think her dad is as big of a threat as she's saying he is."

"How could you say that if you've never met him?" asked Blake who was sitting on her bed with Ruby at her side.

"How could there be a man that could instill so much fear in his own daughter? No father could be that horrible," frowned Yang.

"That coming from a girl whose father has only been loving and supportive for her entire life," said Blake, "And what about your mother? Wouldn't you consider _her_ to be a horrible person for leaving you?"

Yang flinched at the mention of her mother and snapped her gaze onto Blake, "Who told you about my mother?"

Ruby squirmed in her seat as a nervous smile formed on her face, "Sorry, Yang. I just thought—"

"It's fine, Ruby. We'll talk about it later," Yang interrupted, "Right now I just want to figure out how to deal with this whole situation with Weiss."

Blake cleared her throat loudly, "You didn't answer the question," she said.

Yang bit her cheek in hesitation, "The thing about my mother is that I never really knew her. She left before I could even remember her face. Is she a horrible _person_ for abandoning me? Maybe. Is she a horrible _parent_ for abandoning me? Definitely."

Blake raised an eyebrow, "So you _do_ believe someone could be as horrible as Weiss is making her father out to be?" she asked.

"What? No, I never said that," said Yang.

"But you just said your mother was a horrible p—"

"I know what I said!" interrupted Yang, her eyes briefly flashing red, "But it's different! I don't _fear_ my mother like Weiss fears her father! I'm willing to bet all the money I have that Weiss would be much happier if her father just up and left like my mom did!"

Blake watched quietly as Yang sat on Weiss' bed and held her head in her hands. She glanced at Ruby who was frowning at her.

"What if we surprise Weiss with something as a team? Maybe that will get her to relax for a while?" suggested Ruby in an attempt to return to the original subject.

"We already tried that, Ruby. You remember what Weiss said to Team JNPR," groaned Yang.

"But Weiss was unhappy with Nora before that. She has no reason to be upset with all of us, though," explained Ruby.

"Actually," started Yang, "She's upset with me, too. I don't think it would be a good idea for me to talk to her right now."

Ruby stared at Yang with disbelief, "Oh, no… Not again…" she said.

A small smile formed on Yang's face, "Relax, Rubes. It's nowhere near as bad as it was at the start of the year," she chuckled, humorlessly.

Blake hummed in thought for a second, "I agree that a 'surprise,' as Ruby put it, would only frustrate Weiss more, but I think I can talk to her and try to get her to relax that way," said Blake as Yang sighed and rubbed her face with her hands.

"Be my guest," said Yang, "Weiss will probably be at the dance hall. She's been there all day."

Blake nodded as she stood up, watching as Yang stretched on Weiss' bed, "It seems like _you_ are stressed too, Yang. Why don't you get some rest and clear your mind out while I'm gone?" she offered.

"Yeah. Good idea," said Yang as she laid down on Weiss' bed and faced the wall.

Blake walked to the door and opened it as she turned towards Ruby, "Are you coming, Ruby?"

Ruby hopped onto her feet and clung onto Blake's arm, "I thought you'd never ask," she grinned as they walked out, leaving Yang alone.

The blonde tried her best to clear her mind as Blake suggested, but she could not stop thinking about Weiss.

She breathed in, deeply, as she inhaled the scents on Weiss' pillow. It smelled just like her.

* * *

"Woah! Look at this place!" cheered Ruby as her silver eyes sparkled brightly.

Blake smiled at her girlfriend and looked up at the dance hall, "It's certainly a sight to behold," she giggled as a couple of workers walked by, "It's also very busy."

"I don't see how decorating this place in time for the dance could be a problem with how many people are here working on it," Ruby wondered aloud.

"Yeah…" said Blake as curiosity began to nip at her, "I'll bet Weiss is inside."

"After you!" Ruby said sweetly as they walked up to the doors and entered.

If Ruby looked amazed by the outside of the dance hall, the inside astonished her inconceivably. Blake almost forgot about what they were here for since she was almost instantly entranced by Ruby's adorable expression.

A loud shout snapped her out of it, however.

"No! What did I say about the red tape!?" shouted a voice from the back of the dance hall, "The entire area inside the tape is the dance floor! How can people dance when there are tables scattered all over the dance floor!?"

"I-I'm so sorry, ma'am! I'll m-move them immediately!" squeaked another voice.

Ruby nudged Blake as she brought her attention to the voices as well, "I think we found Weiss," she whispered nervously.

Blake took her eyes off Weiss and looked at Ruby with a small smirk, "Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious," she giggled.

"Maybe we should wait until she comes back to the dorm. She sounds really mad and I still have a streak to maintain," said Ruby.

"What are you two doing here!?" shouted Weiss as she stomped towards them.

"No turning back now," said Blake as she gave Ruby a sorrowful look.

"No one besides Yang and me is permitted here until the dance! You weren't supposed to see this place yet! You need to leave!" shouted Weiss as she poked a finger at Blake.

"Wait one second, Weiss. We're here to—"

"The vines go on the walls! Not the floor!" Weiss scolded a young worker behind Blake and Ruby, "That's a tripping hazard, you dimwit!"

"Weiss," Blake stated more firmly, effectively grabbing the heiress' attention, "You are overworking yourself and all your workers. You _need_ to take a break."

Weiss looked at Blake as if she had insulted her, "Do you see this hall? It will not be finished in time if I take any breaks! I need to stay here and keep an eye on all these numbskulls so they do the job correctly!"

"You are stressed and tired," said Blake as she folded her arms, "Have you looked in a mirror recently? I haven't seen bags like those under your eyes since Yang stole your morning shower."

"Why does everyone keep telling me I'm stressed!" shouted Weiss as she threw her arms up and turned away from her friends, "How would you guys even know! You can't feel what I'm feeling!"

"You and I both know that's not how that works," said Blake as she walked around Weiss so she would be forced to face her.

"Even if I were stressed, it wouldn't matter. I have too many things to get done, and the dance won't get here any later than _one week_ from now," vented Weiss as she narrowed her eyes at a wall.

"Think, Weiss," started Blake, "Wouldn't you say your health is more important than some deadline?"

Weiss snapped her gaze onto Blake's face, "My health?" she asked, incredulously, "That's what you're worried about? I am completely fine!"

Weiss folded her arms in defiance as she turned her head to the left and saw a worker standing on a chair and putting up some vines.

"Hey!" shouted Weiss as she marched over to the worker, "Get off that chair! You're getting mud all over the cushion you imbecile! I swear you people will be the death of me!"

Blake sighed at the irony before grabbing Weiss and spinning her around to face her again, "Weiss, listen to me. I understand what it's like to be so devoted to doing something that it consumes you. When I was in the White Fang, I tirelessly worked to plan raids and assaults. I know the stakes are much different for your situation, but my point is: I know the best way for you to stop being stressed is for you to take a break, sort things out, and then get back into it."

Weiss thought for a moment before lightly shaking her head, "I am _not_ stressed," she said as she pushed Blake off her, "I will not tell you to leave again, Blake."

Blake shook her head, "I hope you find what you're looking for by doing all this," she sighed as she turned around to leave.

Ruby watched Blake walk past her and finally found the courage to say something, "Blake, wait! We can't give up, yet!"

Blake stopped, "We can't help her if she wants to push all her friends away," said Blake over her shoulder and exited the dance hall.

Ruby frowned as she turned back to Weiss who was now scolding a different worker, "Weiss?" she asked softly as she walked up behind her.

"Let me work," warned Weiss.

"I just wanted you to—"

"Get _out_ , Ruby!" shouted Weiss after spinning around as Ruby whimpered under her deadly, ice-cold gaze.

Ruby turned around, bringing her hood up over her head as her lip quivered, "There goes the streak…" she sniffled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	23. Stressed

Ruby trudged through the dorm building's halls with her hood pulled over her head. Quiet sniffles seemed to go unheard by everyone. _Almost_ everyone.

Blake's ears twitched under her bow as she caught the sound. She turned towards it to find Ruby hunched over and obviously not looking where she was going.

The red girl bumped into Blake, whispering a soft apology before trying to walk past her.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Blake asked as she grasped Ruby's hand and began walking with her

"Yeah," sniffled Ruby, "I was just really used to nice Weiss, so it felt kind of weird to be yelled at by her again."

Blake nodded as she sighed, "Old habits die hard, I guess," she said as she unlocked the dorm's door and entered.

"Hey, you two," greeted Yang as Ruby sat on Blake's bed.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" said Blake while leaning on Weiss' desk.

"I was trying to," stated Yang, "Oh, by the way, Jaune came by."

"Uh, oh. What's the damage?" cringed Blake.

"He said things were super awkward between him and Pyrrha right now," explained Yang, "I hope everything works out between them," she sighed, shaking her head.

Blake nodded as she folded her arms, "So do I."

Yang examined Blake's somber expression and soon mirrored it, "So, guessing by Weiss not being here and the look on your face, I'm assuming you couldn't get Weiss to relax?"

"No," frowned Blake.

Yang bit her cheek and looked across from her seat on Weiss' bed at Ruby. She instantly knew something was wrong since her sister's hood was pulled all the way over her head, which was never a good sign.

"Ruby, what happened?" said Yang, concern filling her expression, as she rushed over to Ruby's side.

"I'm okay, Yang. Weiss just caught me off guard," sniffled Ruby, refusing to look up at her sister.

"She made you cry?" growled Yang as her concern flashed to anger.

Ruby, sensing Yang's growing rage, looked up at her and held her in place, "I-it was nothing! She just raised her voice at me when I wasn't expecting it! I'm fine! _Really!"_

Yang's eyes glowed a dull red, as she stood up. How dare someone make her sister cry. She was ready to run out the door and show Weiss what happens when someone hurts her baby sister. Until she realized _Weiss_ was that someone.

Yang's rage smoldered in an instant and turned into something else. She would never hurt Weiss. Not again. But it was time for this to stop.

Yang walked past Blake, who was prepared to tackle her if she had to after seeing the rage that was in her eyes a moment ago, and opened the door, "This has gone on long enough. I'm going to talk to Weiss, and I'm going to _make_ her listen."

* * *

Yang looked up and down the dance hall as she took a deep breath. She pushed the door open and walked inside to find Weiss sitting at a table with her hand over her eyes.

The brawler tiptoed over to the table and sat down across from her, "Hey there, Weiss," she said smiling humorlessly.

Weiss dropped her hand to the table as she eyed Yang, "I thought I told you to let me work," she said, coldly.

"You don't seem to be working right now," said Yang as she rested her elbows on the table and clasped her hands in front of her, "You _do_ , however, seem tired. Maybe you should let me take over for a while."

"That won't be necessary," said Weiss, her nose in the air, "Now, leave."

"No," said Yang as she shook her head, "I'm not leaving until you listen to what I have to say."

Weiss scowled as she let out an irritated sigh, "Fine, Yang. I will allow you to waste but a fraction of my time," she said as she stood from her seat, "But not here. Let's go to the balcony so we're out of the workers' way."

Yang nodded and followed Weiss up the curved staircase until they were on the spacious balcony that looked over the kingdom of Vale.

Weiss crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Yang, expectantly.

Yang took a deep breath, "Weiss, you _know_ I care about you, right?"

Weiss' expression softened slightly, "Of course I do," she said, letting her hands fold in front of her.

"So, you know that I'm always here to listen to you," said Yang, "Vent to me. _Tell_ me what's bothering you."

"There is nothing bothering me, and there is nothing to vent, Yang," said Weiss as the scowl returned to her face.

"Really?" asked Yang, her own frustration building, "Is _that_ why you insulted and embarrassed Team JNPR, pushed Blake away, and made Ruby _cry?"_

Weiss' scowl vanished, briefly as she looked Yang in the eye, "I didn't make Ruby cry. I couldn't have," she said, hastily.

"Yes, you did, Weiss," said Yang as she frowned at her girlfriend.

Weiss looked away and rubbed her hand over her face. 

_I made Ruby cry?_

There was no way Ruby would cry over Weiss raising her voice at her. She has done much worse than raise her voice at the young leader before.

The heiress shook her head and narrowed her eyes at Yang, "What do you want from me?" she asked coldly.

"All I want is for us to be happy again, Weiss," said Yang as she clasped her hands over her heart, "I want to hear you laugh and see you smile again," she smiled sadly.

Weiss jaw trembled, "I can't be happy! If I let myself be happy, I will be forced to go to Atlas! I would lose all my friends! I would lose _you_! All because my father wants to protect the company's reputation!" she shouted, "But I already told you that, and you didn't believe me," she said, her voice much softer.

Yang sighed and shook her head, "Jacques Schnee hasn't done _anything_ yet. You are going to lose your friends because _you_ keep pushing them away. If you keep acting the way you are, it won't be your father that made you lose everything. It will be _you."_

Weiss' eyes widened as her scowl faltered again, "N-no! Shut up! Y-you don't know what you're talking about! This is _his_ fault! Not mine!"

"Why can't you see that it's _you_ who will make you lose everything that you've grown to care about so much if you keep doing this to yourself?" asked Yang as she slowly began to move closer to Weiss.

"Stop it!" shouted Weiss as she clenched her eyelids shut and balled some hair on her head into her fists as she backed away from Yang, "It's _his_ fault!"

"Why do you feel the need to push everyone away when they only want to help you? Is planning this dance _really_ more important than them?" Yang asked, sensing a breakthrough coming and continuing to move forward.

"No!" shouted Weiss as her back hit the railing of the balcony, leaving her with nowhere to go.

"Then listen to me and take a break, Weiss! You are so conflicted! It's written all over your face! Take some time to sort things out, and you'll see that you don't have _anything_ to worry about!" shouted Yang, as she loomed over the heiress.

"SHUT UP!" screeched Weiss as Yang took a few steps back, surprised by Weiss' outburst, "I'm getting so _sick_ of everyone thinking they know what's best for me! My father did that enough while I was stuck with him for seventeen years! I don't need my friends to start doing it, and I will never forgive _you_ for doing it!"

Yang looked visibly taken aback as the first signs of tears began to appear on her face, "Weiss, I—"

"No, Yang!" interrupted Weiss, "You have said _enough!_ First, you don't trust me and now you're telling me what I should and shouldn't be worried about!? As if _you_ had gone through every _condescending, conceited,_ and _crippling_ lecture or scolding, courtesy of Jacques Schnee!?" she shouted, now backing Yang towards the stairs.

"Please!" Yang cried, "I'm just trying to help you! I'm your girlfriend! That's my job!"

"For the last time, I don't need your help!" shrieked Weiss, as she poked a finger at Yang, causing her to flinch, "If you can't get that through that thick skull of yours, then _we_ are _finished!"_

Weiss' eyes widened as she gasped at what she had just said.

Yang was in shock as her knees nearly buckled from under her. Her breathing was erratic, and her jaw was trembling.

Weiss felt tears burning her eyes at the sight of Yang's hurt expression.

Yang had not expected Weiss to say that, and the pang that shot through her heart hurt more than any strike a Grimm could land on her.

"Yang, wait!" begged Weiss as Yang turned and ran down the stairs and out of the building.

Before Weiss could say anything more, Yang was gone.

"Why did I say that!?" shouted Weiss through clenched teeth as she gripped her head in her hands and fell to her knees, "I didn't mean it!" she cried as tears began to drip onto the concrete.

But Yang didn't hear her. She probably thought Weiss hated her, but that could not be farther from the truth.

Weiss stumbled into the dance hall, wiping her eyes, despite her tears still falling, "Everyone, leave! We're done here for today!" she shouted as she ran out of the building.

She _had_ to find Yang.

Yang was right about everything. It was not her father that pushed her away. It was Weiss.

It was Weiss' fault that she would lose the one person she had grown to care about most. And for what? The last word in an argument where she was fundamentally wrong? Or was she wrong?

Weiss shook her head to rid her mind of the conflicting thoughts that continued to ravage it. Right now, none of that mattered.

Only Yang mattered, and Weiss _refused_ to lose her because of her own stubbornness.

"Gods, I'm such an _idiot!"_ she shouted as she picked up speed.

Her legs burned as she pushed the limits of her physique, sprinting down the path that would lead her back to Beacon's campus. The wind was drying her tears faster than they could run down her cheeks. Her breaths were unsteadied as she desperately gulped down enough air to keep up with her rapidly beating heart.

She did not _dare_ slow down.

Soon, she reached Beacon and was frustrated with herself for not running fast enough to catch Yang on the path.

"Where could she be?" Weiss whimpered as she nervously gripped her hair in her hand.

Location after location zoomed through Weiss' mind as her chest sporadically contracted and expanded, trying to supply her lungs with oxygen.

"The dorm!" Weiss exclaimed as she wasted no time breaking for the dorm building.

She must have nearly toppled over six or seven students by the time she reached her destination.

Not wanting to run through the halls, Weiss slowed her pace slightly as she frantically searched the halls for any sign of Yang while she made her way through the dorm building.

_Please be here! Please be here!_

The thought repeated in her head as the dorm room came into view.

Weiss clumsily unlocked the door and barged in, hoping to find Yang sitting on her bed or crying in the corner for all she cared. As long as Yang was there.

Her panic only multiplied when she only saw Blake and Ruby.

"Where is Yang?" said Weiss, hastily, as she checked the bathroom.

"Weiss?" asked Blake as she stood from her seat next to Ruby, "I thought you were too busy to stop working," she said, sardonically crossing her arms.

"Not anymore," said Weiss, absentmindedly, as she searched the room for Yang's scroll, "Did Yang come through here?"

Blake said nothing as Weiss continued to search.

"Blake, Please! Tell me!" begged Weiss as she pulled her attention away from her search and looked at Blake, "I messed up! Really badly! I said some things that I didn't mean, and now Yang—"

"Weiss!" said Blake, stoically, as she looked down at the heiress and nodded her head towards Ruby.

Weiss looked up at Blake with disbelief and impatiently looked at the girl Blake was gesturing to. Her expression softened as her gaze fell upon their leader who was looking at the ground with her hood pulled up over her head.

Guilt began to consume the heiress as she realized that she had been far too hard on Ruby. The girl was only trying to help her, and Weiss raised her voice at her.

Weiss glanced back at Blake for a second and received a stern frown in response.

Understanding what she had to do, Weiss quietly sat down next to Ruby and folded her hands in her lap.

"Hi, Ruby," she said softly.

Ruby flinched ever so slightly as she hugged herself tightly, "Hey, Weiss," she murmured.

"Are you okay?" asked Weiss as she shifted a little closer.

"Yeah. Totally," said Ruby with a false smile.

Weiss did not believe her and took a deep breath, "Ruby… I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"Oh, it's okay, Weiss! You didn't even do anything that bad," assured the melancholic leader.

"No, Ruby," insisted Weiss as she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "It was completely and utterly inappropriate of me to say anything that wasn't totally kind to you. You and Blake have been nothing but supportive to me, and I hate how I repaid you for that. I'm so sorry for the way I've been treating you."

Ruby looked up at Weiss as a small, genuine smile formed on her face and eventually turned into a large grin.

"Thank you, Weiss. That means a lot to me," said Ruby as she tried to suppress the urge to hug her partner, "I forgive you, Bestie!" she shouted as she threw her hood back.

It filled Weiss with so much joy to see the exuberance return to her young leader. She knew she wanted a hug by the way she vibrated in her seat.

Weiss smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ruby and giggled at the surprised noise she made, "Thank you…"

Ruby hugged Weiss tightly as she looked back at her girlfriend, "Get in here, Blake!" she cheered.

Blake smirked and rolled her eyes as she stooped down and hugged her teammates.

"We need more group hugs," said Ruby after they broke apart.

"I agree, wholeheartedly," said Weiss as she stood up and nervously faced Blake, "Blake, I believe I owe you an apology, as well."

Blake shook her head with a small smile, "What you said to Ruby is good enough for me," she smiled.

"Well, I'm sorry anyway," said Weiss with a smirk.

Blake chuckled and shook her head, "By the way, to answer your question: no, Yang did not come by here since she left to talk to you."

Weiss bit her cheek as she was reminded of Yang's absence, "What have I done," she sighed as she approached the door, "Please help me find her?"

"Of course I'll help you find her!" cried Ruby as she dashed towards the door.

"And I will, too," added Blake.

"You both never fail to be supportive," said Weiss as she smiled fondly.

_I only wish I could repay you and team JNPR._

Weiss opened the door, "Before we go, I need to talk to team JNPR. I owe them a _huge_ apology."

"I was hoping you would say that," said Blake as she walked to the front of team JNPR's door and gestured towards it.

Weiss took a deep breath as she faced the door and rapped her knuckles on it. She looked to her friends and smiled at the reassuring looks she received from them both.

_Why did it take until I was afraid of losing Yang for me to come to my senses?_

The door opened, and Weiss was met with the pink gaze of Lie Ren.

"Hello, Ren," greeted Weiss, refusing to look away, "May I come in, please?"

Ren looked back into the room for a moment and stepped to the side to let Weiss pass.

Weiss nodded appreciatively at Ren as she nervously entered the other team's dorm room.

Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora all sat on their respective beds, watching the room's new occupant's every move.

Weiss stood up straight, placing her shaking hands behind her back so no one would see them, "H-hello, everyone," she said, cringing at her stutter.

"Ice Queen…" said Nora as she pouted and folded her arms.

Weiss cleared her throat and let her body relax, "I am sorry. It was rude and horrible of me to say the things I did. Especially to you… My friends," she began, "If you'll still let me call you that."

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance before smiling and turning back to Weiss, "Okay, Weiss. We forgive you," said Pyrrha.

Weiss snapped her gaze at the amazon, "What? That easily? I called Jaune a terrible leader and Nora a loudmouth," she said, "And I gave away one of your secrets, too, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha shrugged as she looked at Jaune.

"Well, we've been talking about what you said," Jaune began, "And we've realized there was some truth to it."

Weiss' jaw dropped as she looked at her insane friends, "What are you talking about!? What I said was horrendous!"

"Nah, you pretty much nailed me, Ice Queen," said Nora, "I know I'm a loudmouth. It's just who I am. And I'm _proud_ of who I am!"

"Loudmouth or not, I shouldn't have called you that," said Weiss, "It wasn't your fault. We didn't tell you our relationship was a secret."

"Who cares! We already forgave you, ya big dummy!" laughed Nora.

Weiss brought a hand to her head, unable to comprehend Team JNPR's generous forgiveness, "I don't understand! Aren't you the least bit upset about what I said?"

"The way I see it," began Jaune, "If I'm a bad leader, then it's because I haven't learned enough yet. That's what we're here at Beacon for, after all. To learn!"

Weiss looked at Pyrrha and frowned, "Didn't I make things awkward between you and Jaune, though?"

Pyrrha blushed as she shared a small glance at Jaune, "Actually, Weiss… Jaune and I have decided to start dating. If it weren't for you telling Jaune how I felt, I would still be trying to subtly tell him myself."

"Yup! We were only waiting for you to stop being a bitch and say you're sorry!" cheered Nora.

Weiss chuckled at the benign insult before glancing at Blake and Ruby who were laughing in the corner, "I suppose I deserved that… Thank you all."

Weiss glanced at Ren as she realized something, "Oh! Ren, I'm sorry I didn't try any of the food you made. I hope you all enjoyed it without me."

"Oh, I assure you, we did," smiled Ren as the rooms other occupants giggled, "However, there are some leftovers in the mini-fridge for you."

Weiss smiled and shook her head, "You are too kind," she said as she felt her stomach rumbling, "I'm afraid I can't eat it now, though. I have to find Yang."

"I'm sure Yang can wait for you to eat something, Weiss," said Pyrrha with concern, "You still haven't eaten all day."

"I can't," said Weiss as she looked at the door, "I said something to Yang that I really didn't mean to. It was in the heat of the moment, and I said it without thinking. I need to find her and tell her before I lose her."

Team JNPR looked at each other with concern.

"We'll help you find her," said Nora with determination as she stood up from her bed.

Weiss looked at all her friends' determined faces and felt an undying joy in her chest, "I really don't deserve friends like you."

"Maybe," said Nora as she walked passed Weiss, "But you do _need_ friends like us."

Weiss smiled and breathed in deeply, "Okay," she said as the smile left her face, "Ruby and Blake will check the North side of campus, Ren and Nora will check the West side, and Jaune and Pyrrha will check the CTT."

"What about the East side? Is that where you're going?" asked Blake.

"I already went through the East side while running to the dorm from the dance hall. I didn't see her," said Weiss as she turned around in thought, "There _is_ a chance Yang might have gone into the Emerald Forest, so I'm going to check the garage and see if Bumblebee is still there."

"We don't have very much daylight left," said Ruby, a terrified look on her face, "If Yang's in the Emerald Forest by the time the sun sets, the Grimm—"

"Don't worry, Ruby," said Jaune, "Yang's strong. She can handle the Grimm if they dare to pick a fight with her."

"We don't even know if Yang's _in_ the Emerald Forest yet, anyway," said Nora.

"Right," said Weiss as she opened the door, "We should go now. Everyone keep your scrolls handy, and I'll tell you what I find in the garage."

With that, everyone dispersed from the room and went towards their designated section of Beacon.

* * *

Weiss hastily walked up to the garage and pulled out her scroll to open it, only to be denied.

"Access denied?" Weiss said with disgust, "How is that possible…"

The heiress tried again before realizing her scroll did not have clearance to open Yang's garage.

Weiss slapped her palm to her face, "Oh my goodness. I really do need some rest," she sighed as she looked at the panel to put in the password manually.

What could Yang have possibly put for the password? Weiss thought for a moment before entering something in.

"Weiss Schnee?" she whispered to herself as she typed her name, only to be met with denial.

"Hm, no, that's not it… How about Ruby Rose?"

The panel blinked red again as it denied Weiss access.

"Damn. What else…" whispered Weiss as she thought again.

Weiss's eyes widened as she thought of something, "If this is it, I'm going to _kill_ her," she said to herself as she typed in, 'Ice Queen.'

Weiss pouted as the door opened to reveal Bumblebee in all her glory.

The heiress pulled out her scroll, snapped a picture of the bike, and sent it to her friends saying Yang was still on campus.

Now Weiss was getting worried. Yang's bike not being there was the only lead she had.

The scroll in Weiss' hand began vibrating as she walked out of the garage and closed the door. She was receiving an incoming call from Jaune.

The heiress perked up and hastily answered, "Did you find her!?" she asked.

" _No, but we ran into Dr. Oobleck, and he said he saw her run into the dorms earlier,"_ said Jaune.

Weiss narrowed her eyebrows at what Jaune said, "How is that possible. We were in the dorms ten minutes ago," she said as she looked at the sky to see the sun still well above the horizon.

" _I'm not sure, but if Bumblebee is still in the garage, I think you should go back to the dorms and look around,"_ suggested Jaune.

"I'm on my way now," said Weiss before snapping her scroll shut and making a bee-line back to the dorms.

How could Yang be at the dorms? Unless she was somewhere besides the dorm room? But where else could she have gone?

Weiss entered the dorm building, thinking of the possibilities as she walked.

"Where could she be… The only thing in the dorm building is the dorms and… _T_ _he café!"_

Weiss sped down the halls until she reached the café and practically ran into it, startling a few students.

She looked around for a head of blonde hair or some beautiful lilac eyes and lost a bit of her soul when she did not find them. She felt frustration begin to nip at her.

"Damn it!" she shouted, "Have any of you seen Yang Xiao Long?"

The students shook their heads, prompting Weiss to leave.

Weiss growled as she started for her dorm room, but quickly found her frustration fade into guilt, "This is all my fault… I lost her," she whimpered as tears welled in her icy blue eyes.

Weiss' scroll rang again.

The heiress pulled it out and recognized Blake's blurred contact image.

"Hello, Blake. Any luck?" Weiss asked, crestfallen, after answering the scroll.

" _Yes, actually,"_ said Blake, _"I spoke with Professor Port, and he said he was walking with Dr. Oobleck when he saw Yang—"_

"Run into the dorm building. I know," said Weiss.

Blake paused on the other end for a moment, _"Hey, are you alright? You sound like you've given up."_

"I haven't given up!" Weiss shouted before realizing she was about to lose it, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell."

" _It's okay, Weiss,"_ said Blake, softly, _"Don't worry. We will find her."_

"I know we will," said Weiss, dejectedly.

Weiss sighed as she turned around and made her way back to the café. She was in desperate need of some coffee.

After buying a small cup, the heiress sat down at a table and thought. She needed to look at this from an outside perspective. What on Remnant should Weiss do?

_What would Winter do?_

Winter would look at the matter stoically and professionally.

The heiress sat up straight in her chair and steadied her breathing. She knew Yang would go to a place where she could be alone and think. Someplace away from any wandering individuals.

Winter would do research and conduct a possible solution.

Weiss already had the research in the form of knowing Yang. In the past, Yang would only go to Team RWBY's dorm, Team JNPR's dorm, and the café, but she already checked all those places. The only other place Weiss remembers being with Yang at was on the stairs and the roof.

_The roof._

"Thank you, Winter!" shouted Weiss as she ran out of the café, ignoring the strange looks she received from the other students.

Weiss remembered how she locked herself on the roof when Yang pulled that stupid prank on her. Perhaps Yang was doing the same thing and sitting on the roof to have some time to herself.

The heiress went to a vending machine and purchased a bottle of water before sprinting up the stairs and crashing through the door.

She gasped as she saw the one person she cared about most, sitting on the edge of the roof.

Yang flinched as she heard the door bust open and looked back to see Weiss standing there, "Weiss?" she asked as she stood up and faced her.

Weiss looked at Yang, relieved that she had finally found her, but remembered why she was looking for her in the first place. She fell to her knees as tears blurred her vision again.

"Yang… I am so, _so_ , sorry," she wept, "I didn't mean anything I said. I didn't mean it, and I hate myself for saying it."

Yang rushed to Weiss, knelt down in front of her, and hugged her tightly, "I know you didn't mean it, Weiss. You're just really stressed out about all the stuff that's on your plate right now."

Weiss locked eyes with Yang and sniffled between her sobs, "I made you cry… I made you run from me…"

"And I'm sorry for stressing you out even more," Yang smiled, "Some girlfriend _I_ am. I shouldn't have said you were exaggerating how horrible your dad is. I'm sorry about that too. It was totally not cool of me, especially since I've never met him."

Weiss lightly slapped Yang's shoulder, "Don't you _dare_ try to make this whole thing your fault! You were just trying to help me, and I treated you like you were nothing."

Yang smiled as Weiss hugged her, "Let's just say it was both of our faults," she giggled.

Weiss nodded into the crook of Yang's neck.

"So," began Yang, "Are you ready to relax about the dance now? Maybe take a break?"

Weiss parted from Yang so she would look her in the eyes, "Yes," she said as her tears stopped flowing.

"I've gotcha," said Yang as she untied the purple bandana from her leg and handed it to Weiss.

"Thank you," said Weiss, quietly as she began to wipe the tears from her eyes, "So, why did you come up _here?"_

Yang smiled and closed her eyes as she placed her forehead against Weiss', "Because I knew you'd find me here."

Weiss let her eyes close as she basked in Yang's touch, still sniffling.

"Here," said Yang as she picked up the water bottle Weiss brought with her, "Drink this."

Weiss chuckled as she accepted the bottle, "You know, I bought this for you because I thought _you_ would be the one crying when I found you."

Yang laughed as she sat cross-legged in front of Weiss, "So, I was thinking," she began, "Since we've got the whole week off because of the dance, how about we start getting you de-stressed tomorrow?"

Weiss took a sip of the water and sighed, "I would absolutely _love_ that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	24. De-stressing Day

Weiss strode out of the bathroom, the comb in her hand gliding through her long, platinum locks. She glanced at her bed and saw Yang still in her pajamas and lying there.

Yang looked up from the video she was watching on her scroll and smiled, "Heya, Weiss. How did you sleep? You were out for longer than usual," she said as she sat up and let a leg hang off the edge of the bed.

"Fine, I suppose. I slept better than previous nights," Weiss sighed as she plucked her tiara from her nightstand, "But I keep having that stupid nightmare."

"Maybe the nightmares will stop after all the relaxing stuff you're going to do today," said Yang with a bright smile.

"I'm afraid I won't be doing much relaxing with this headache," said Weiss as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Uh oh," said Yang as she pursed her lips and stood up, "I hope that doesn't mean we have to cancel De-stressing Day."

"De-stressing Day?" scoffed Weiss with a half-smile.

"De-stressing Day!" Yang cheered with a chuckle, "There's some aspirin in the bathroom. I could get some for you?" she asked.

"Could you, please?" asked Weiss as she pinched her temples between her thumb and middle finger.

Weiss sat down on her bed as Yang disappeared into the bathroom. She took a moment to look around the dorm and noticed the absence of Blake and Ruby.

"Hey, Yang?" called Weiss.

"Yeah, Babe?" answered Yang from inside the bathroom.

"Where's Blake and Ruby?" asked Weiss.

"Um… I think they went… Somewhere?" said Yang as she sifted through the medicine cabinet.

"Obviously they went somewhere," said Weiss as she rolled her eyes and peeked at her scroll to find it was nearly ten o'clock, "Oh my… I _did_ sleep for a long time."

Yang giggled as she came out of the bathroom with some aspirin in one hand and a cup of water in the other, "I hope this helps," she said.

Weiss swallowed the medication and washed it down with the ice cold tap water, "I'll be fine. As a matter of fact, I feel better already," she said as she wiped a stray water droplet from her chin.

"Well, that's a relief," smiled Yang as she bent down and stole a kiss from her girlfriend, "Are you ready to de-stress?"

"Coffee first, everything else later," yawned Weiss.

Yang giggled as she took the empty cup from Weiss, "I still have to get dressed, so why don't you go down to the café and grab some while I do that," she suggested.

"Good plan," said Weiss as she stood up and walked out of the dorm.

She made her way to the staircase and smiled as she came across Ruby and Blake holding a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Weiss!" greeted Ruby.

"You're finally up," smiled Blake, "How does it feel to sleep in for once?"

"Exhausting," sighed Weiss, "Even after my shower, I feel tired."

"Well, that's what _this_ is for," smirked Blake as she presented the cup to Weiss.

Weiss gasped and clutched the coffee in her hands, " _You_ are the best," she said and took a generous sip of the scalding, black liquid.

"It was my idea!" said Ruby as she pouted at Blake.

"Who cares, Ruby," smiled Weiss as she shook her head, "I think it's a known fact that _you_ are indeed the best in the whole world. Wouldn't you agree… Bestie?"

Ruby's pursed lips curled up as she gasped loudly, "You said it back!" she cheered as she slammed into Weiss and wrapped her in a crushing hug.

Weiss had seen it coming and narrowly avoided having her coffee crushed between them, moving her arm out of the way of the inexorable force that was Ruby Rose.

"Careful, Ruby! You could have spilled coffee everywhere!" she lightly scolded.

"Sorry, Weiss," smiled Ruby as she stood by Blake's side again, "So, what brings you to the stairs?"

"I was going to get some coffee, but you two have already so kindly done that for me," said Weiss as she turned and lead Ruby and Blake back up the stairs, "Now I just need Yang to get ready so we can do whatever it is she plans to do with me."

"Ah, yes," chuckled Blake, "De-stressing Day."

Weiss looked over her shoulder and eyed Blake, "Yang hasn't told you anything about this, has she?" she interrogated.

"She didn't tell me any specifics if that's what you're after," said Blake.

"I suppose I'll find out soon enough," shrugged Weiss.

The three girls walked the short distance to the dorm room and entered.

"Wow, that was fast," said Yang as she looked at Weiss skeptically.

"I ran into Blake and Ruby on the way to the café, and they already had a cup for me," Weiss explained.

"Oh, that was nice of you guys," said Yang, smiling at her teammates, "Weiss and I are going to start De-stressing Day now," she added, giving Ruby and Blake a knowing look.

Blake nodded and grabbed a confused Ruby's hand, "Ruby and I are going to Jaune's room for a while," she said, dragging Ruby out of the room.

"Okay?" chuckled Weiss as she turned to Yang, "What's first on our list of things to do?"

"First," began Yang as she grasped Weiss' hand and lead her to sit on her bed, "I want you to tell me every single thing that's stressing you out, no matter how big or small. In fact, I'm _more_ concerned about the small things."

"Small things?" asked Weiss, shaking her head, "Shouldn't we be focusing on the big things?"

"No, because, eventually, one of those small problems is going to be the straw that broke the camel's back, if you know what I mean," explained Yang.

"Ah," said Weiss, "I understand. I have no idea where to begin, though."

"Start with classes, then," offered Yang, "How has Weiss Schnee been doing in her classes?"

"Is that a joke?" scoffed Weiss.

"No! I really want to know," insisted Yang.

"Okay…" Weiss trailed off as she thought for a moment, "I mean, I'm passing all of my classes with straight A's, _naturally,_ but I suppose it's been getting harder now that I have the dance and everything to worry about."

"And how does that make you feel?" asked Yang as she pulled up a chair from one of the desks and sat in front of Weiss, "Do you feel like you won't be able to maintain your amazing grades?" she followed up.

Weiss scoffed again, "What are you, a therapist now?" she chuckled.

"Weiss, _please_ take this seriously," frowned Yang.

The smug look on Weiss' face vanished instantly as she sat up straight, "I'm sorry, I just don't feel like my grades are what's stressing me out."

"Okay, then how about we talk about the dance first?" asked Yang.

Weiss nodded as she shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I wanted to explain why I was acting the way I was…" she mumbled.

Yang placed a hand on Weiss' knee, " _I'm_ ready to listen whenever _you're_ ready to talk," she said, a reassuring smile on her face.

Weiss sighed as she looked Yang in the eye, "Ever since we went public with our relationship, my mind was constantly focused on my father. What would he do if and when he finds out? Would he really force me to go to Atlas? Is there anything I could say to him to change his mind? _That_ was the most stressful thing I had to deal with, and I couldn't escape it because my mind wouldn't let me. Honestly, it's my fault that this whole thing happened. _I_ stressed _myself_ out."

" _You_ didn't do anything," said Yang, "You reacted to a threat the only way you know how. You like to plan ahead and be prepared for things."

"Even if that's true, I'm still responsible for all my actions. Which brings me to the dance," Weiss continued, "Whenever I was in the dance hall with all of those brainless workers, I could forget about my father, albeit very briefly, and I could give my mind a break from stressing out about him. But when I saw everyone in the garden with a whole, extravagant lunch just for me, I was only reminded of how badly I was stressing out about my father, and that only added _more_ stress."

Yang nodded along as Weiss vented out all her frustrations.

"All of that on top of the nightmares I've been having nearly every night now and waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep? I'm constantly tired and nowhere near focused enough to do anything that requires complex thinking. All the coffee I've been drinking to wake me up in the morning has started to mess with my stomach, but I know if I stop drinking it I'll practically be a zombie. And speaking of coffee, I'm starting to think that I'm so short because it may have stunted my growth! Many people say that coffee doesn't actually do that, and I believed them, but now I'm not so sure!"

Yang forced back the urge to giggle at the enormous tangent her girlfriend was going on, but this is exactly what she wanted to hear.

"I mean, just look at Winter! She's taller than _you,_ for Oum sake! _And_ her bust is bigger than yours! _Well_ , I'm not completely sure about that. I haven't seen her since she left me alone with _him_ , after all. I just wish I was as well-endowed as she, or even _you,_ are."

"Aw, you shouldn't worry about that, Weissy," said Yang, trying to hold in a laugh, "I like your boobs just the way they are."

"That's easy for you to say," pouted Weiss, "You're the one with the beautiful body. I mean, seriously! It's been driving me crazy! It was pure torture seeing you change in front of me. I've been absolutely _teeming_ with sexual tension these past few weeks because I haven't been able to properly touch myself in _months!"_

" _WHAT!?"_ shouted Yang, sending her chair fumbling to the ground as she shot up,

Weiss' eyes widened like saucers as she held her breath, "I did _not_ mean to say that out loud."

"How are you even functioning right now!? I can't go two full weeks without doing that or else I go crazy! Are you okay!? You poor thing!" shouted Yang as she paced in front of her girlfriend, "I feel terrible about teasing you now."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at Yang, "You did that on purpose?" she asked, incredulously.

"Well, yeah," said Yang as if the answer were obvious, "Didn't you find it kind of weird that I would randomly change in front of you?"

"… I do _now_ …" pouted Weiss as she folded her arms below her chest.

"Why the heck would you do that to yourself? No wonder you were so stressed out," said Yang.

Weiss huffed as an unamused expression formed on her face, "I never have time. There are always people around and there is _no way_ I'm getting caught in the act. That would be _unbelievably_ embarrassing!"

"Why don't you just do it in the shower?" asked Yang, anxiously.

"Yang, that's disgusting!" groaned Weiss, "We _share_ that shower! How would you feel if one of us touched herself in the shower before you used it?"

"I wouldn't care! Because _I_ do it in the shower, too!" said Yang, disbelief still showing on her features.

"That's just because you're weird," scoffed Weiss.

"I know for a fact that Ruby does it too, Weiss," said Yang.

Weiss looked at Yang with disgust, "How would you know? I highly doubt she would tell you that."

"I walked in on her literally two weeks ago while you were at the dance hall. If you don't believe me, ask her," chuckled Yang.

"Well, _I_ prefer to do it in the comfort of my own bed, anyway," said Weiss as she crossed her legs.

"Beggars can't be choosers, Babe," giggled Yang as she thought for a moment, "Lucky for you, I know just the thing that can help you with your little _problem,"_ purred Yang as she leaned over Weiss and cupped her cheek.

Weiss gazed into Yang's sultry, lilac irises and blushed as she turned away, "Yang… I don't think I'm quite ready for sex yet," she mumbled.

Yang's eyes widened as she immediately backed off of the heiress, "That's not what I was going to say!" she said hastily before furrowing her eyebrows in thought, "But we should talk about that later."

Weiss rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face, "Later," she repeated, "So, what is your grand scheme for today?"

"My plan has changed almost completely now, but it still starts with breakfast in Vale. Then, _you_ are going to that spa we walked past in Vale forever ago to get pampered up and take one of those relaxing steam baths you mentioned," explained Yang.

Weiss raised an eyebrow and smirked, "That _does_ sound relaxing."

"Well, get up so we can go then!" Yang teased as she held her hand out for Weiss to grasp, "Just curious: you don't have any diseases or anything like that, do you?"

Weiss' jaw dropped, "Of _course_ I don't!" she shouted, slapping her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Great! Me neither," giggled Yang.

Weiss scoffed, trying her best to hide the smile that was forming on her face, "You are _so_ inappropriate."

* * *

After the airship ride to Vale, Yang exuberantly dragged Weiss to a familiar café.

"This place again?" asked Weiss as Yang opened the door for her.

"I thought the familiar scenery might do some good for you," said Yang, "Go sit at that table we used last time, and I'll order some food for us. Do waffles and bacon sound good? And maybe some orange juice instead of coffee?"

Weiss mulled it over in her head before answering, "Can I have some hash-browns instead of bacon?"

"Absolutely," smiled Yang as she walked up to the counter.

Weiss walked into the dining area and smiled as she found the table next to the window was vacant. She sat down and admired the streets of Vale while she waited for her girlfriend to return.

Before she knew it, Yang was sitting in front of her with two plates and two cups of juice on the table.

"Don't be shy if you want more," said Yang, picking up her fork and impaling a sausage.

"Thank you," whispered Weiss as she began to cut her waffles.

Yang raised an eyebrow and swallowed, "You okay?" she asked.

Weiss looked into Yang's eyes and smiled generously, "Yeah," she sighed, "It's just been a few weeks since we've had a chance to do something like this, together."

Yang grasped Weiss' hand and squeezed it, "Do you remember the last time we were here?"

"I remember you pulling me out of my comfort zone," Weiss huffed with a small smile.

"I asked you to draw me," Yang giggled, "And I remember watching your eyes and seeing how focused you were, and I could tell how _badly_ you wanted it to be perfect."

"I was trying to impress you," blushed Weiss.

"You were. And I thought it was adorable," chuckled Yang, "Did you know that when you're concentrating on something _super_ hard, you make this cute little pouting face? Ugh! It just makes me want to hug the life out of you!"

Weiss smirked as she took a sip of her orange juice, "Like this?" she said as she made a pouting face.

"Nah, you've got to be concentrating on something," said Yang as she made a pouting face, herself, "It looks kind of like _this."_

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Weiss giggled as she made another face.

"No, like _this._ Pay attention to my nose," said Yang as she began emphasizing the position of her nose."

"Like _this?"_ repeated Weiss as she scrunched her nose.

Yang snorted, placing a hand on her stomach and laughing boisterously, "You are _so_ adorable!"

"Stop making fun of me," Weiss giggled, kicking the brawler's leg under the table.

"I'm sorry, Babe. It's just so good to see you smile again," sighed Yang as she gazed fondly into Weiss' icy blue irises.

Weiss smiled back, leaning forward and capturing Yang's lips with her own. The taste of scrambled eggs could never taste better than when it was coupled with kissing Yang.

Yang blushed lightly as Weiss pulled away and resumed eating her waffles.

"You kissed me in public," said Yang.

Weiss looked outside for a moment, "I suppose I did," she smiled.

Yang grinned as the two girls finished up the rest of their meals.

"Ready for your wonderful afternoon at the spa?" said Yang as she picked up Weiss' empty plate and stacked it on top of her own.

"I am _so_ ready," groaned Weiss as she stood up, "I can't remember the last time I felt this _stiff."_

"Let's get to it, then," smirked Yang as she offered her hand to Weiss, who graciously accepted it.

The couple made their way out of the café and strolled the short distance to the spa.

Yang looked up at the establishment and sighed loudly, "Have fun in there, Weissy," she said.

Weiss looked at Yang, confusion clearly evident on her face, "You're not coming in with me?"

"I've got a plan to set in motion for you, remember?" said Yang as she faced Weiss and grasped both her hands, "Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Just relax and wind down in here, but do not come back to the dorm for at least two hours, okay?"

Weiss sighed, "I can't say I'm not at least a little bit disappointed, but... Okay."

"Awesome," said Yang as she cupped Weiss' face in her hand and left, leaving a ghostly trace of her touch on the heiress' chin.

Weiss shivered as a warm feeling began to pulse through her body. She really liked that.

The heiress entered the spa and was met with a dark-colored room. The walls were dark grey and there were several small potted ferns scattered throughout. There were also a couple of benches where patrons could sit for whatever reason.

There just so happened to be a woman with amber eyes and onyx hair sitting on one.

"Cinder?"

The woman looked up from her scroll and smiled brightly, "Weiss!" she cheered as she stood up.

"Gosh, it's so strange to see you outside of the pharmacy," smiled Weiss as she hugged her physician.

"I have a personal life, too, you know," chuckled Cinder, "How have you been?"

"I'm doing better now, thanks to Yang. She's actually the one who took me here," admitted Weiss.

"That's good to hear. So, where _is_ Yang?" asked Cinder, glancing at the door.

"She said she's 'putting her plan in motion,' whatever that means."

"Sounds interesting," Cinder smirked.

"Yes, and terrifying. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I took part of the day off because my wife sent me a coupon for a couple's massage. We were going to use it today, but it appears she won't be able to make it," Cinder frowned.

Weiss furrowed her eyebrows, "You're married? You never told me."

"My job is to talk about _you_ , not me. It just never came up before," Cinder shrugged, "Hey, why don't _you_ join me? It would be nice to talk about things, but please don't feel obligated to do so."

Weiss thought for a moment. Would it be weird to get a message with her physician and childhood caretaker? She _has_ trusted Cinder with many of her secrets...

"Nonsense! I would love to join you! Thank you so much for offering," Weiss smiled as a therapist walked over to them.

"Hello there! Welcome to Vacuo Springs Spa!" greeted the therapist, "I heard something about a couple's massage?"

Cinder handed the therapist the coupon, "Call it a friends' message," she smiled.

"Of course," said the therapist as she turned around, "Right this way."

Weiss walked with Cinder until they entered a room with two massage tables and a few fountains.

"I'll wait right outside while you two disrobe and get comfortable on those tables," said the therapist as she closed the door.

Weiss glanced at Cinder and blushed, "Let's just face the wall."

Cinder smirked, "Relax, Weiss. Be proud of your body! Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before. I am your physician after all."

_Yep! This is totally going to be weird!_

"That was when I was younger, though," she said.

Cinder laughed, "I was only teasing you, Sweetie," she said as she turned around and began to unbutton the flannel she was wearing.

It was right now when Weiss _really_ wished Yang had been here with her. She could have snuck another glance at Yang's body at this moment.

She imagined that happening before her, absently staring at Cinder as the physician took off her shirt to reveal a small tattoo centered on her back. Weiss studied the tattoo for a moment before she snapped out of her stupor and turned around to remove her jacket.

_That's an odd tattoo. I wonder what it stands for... Probably nothing._

Before long, there was a knock on the door, and the two women, in nothing but their underwear, were lying on their stomachs on the massage tables with towels over their hips.

"We're ready!" shouted Cinder.

Weiss heard the door open and what sounded like two pairs of footsteps.

"Okay, you two. Just relax and we'll take care of any tension you might have," said one of the therapists.

After a moment of quiet, Weiss felt some warm oil pour onto her back followed by a pair of soft hands.

Weiss had to use every fiber of her being to hold in the groan that threatened to leave her lips. She only wished that Yang was here to enjoy this with her… Or do this to her.

The heiress shut off her mind and now imagined Yang massaging her. All of a sudden, the hands on her back felt _so_ much better.

"Ngh…" Weiss groaned before biting her tongue.

"Someone's tense," chuckled Cinder as she smiled at Weiss.

"You have no idea," sighed Weiss as she cracked an eye open.

"My wife likes to keep all the tension bottled up inside, too," Cinder chuckled.

Weiss examined Cinder's face as the physician closed her eyes, "Tell me about her," she said.

Cinder opened her eyes again and raised an eyebrow before smiling, "She's tall, has black hair, and is unbelievably strong."

"How much can she lift?" Weiss asked.

"I wasn't really talking about physical strength, though she does have that too. She's always determined to do whatever she can for what she believes in. She's extremely stubborn too, which _can_ be a good thing."

"She sounds a lot like Yang," said Weiss.

"I thought the same thing when you told me about her," said Cinder, letting her eyes close, "She isn't without her faults, however. Her dedication often leads her to make poor choices and do stupid things, but I love her all the same. I just wish she would relax every once in a while."

Weiss thought to herself and closed her eyes. It would appear Weiss had some things in common with Cinder's wife as well.

Concentrating on the hands massaging her back, Weiss closed her eyes as the stiffness in her body was swiftly eradicated.

By the time the message was over and she was back in her clothes, Weiss felt exponentially better.

"It was fun seeing you, Weiss," said Cinder as she turned to leave, "Maybe we could do this again sometime."

"Wait," said Weiss, causing Cinder to face her once again, "Let me pay for a steam room for the both of us."

Cinder furrowed her eyebrows, "Really? Are you sure?"

"Of course! I have about an hour to kill anyway, and I enjoy your company."

"Well… If you insist," smiled Cinder as she followed Weiss to the front counter to pay for access to a steam room for them both.

They quickly changed into towels and entered their designated room.

Weiss breathed in the warm air, already feeling it doing some good for her skin. She sat down as Cinder closed the door behind them, leaving the two women sealed in together with the heat.

"To be honest, I haven't been in one of these in years," admitted Cinder, "I usually just take a hot shower and call it a day."

"A hot shower doesn't have the same effect as a steam bath, though," said Weiss.

"I suppose you're right," said Cinder as she sat down across from Weiss and leaned against the wall.

"So… Cinder?" asked Weiss, timidly.

"Yes, Sweetie?" said the physician, her eyes closed.

"This might not be my place to ask, but why did your wife not meet you here today?" asked Weiss.

Cinder opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow, "She's busy with… Personal matters," she answered, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know… I guess I'm afraid I might not make enough time for Yang in the future. I'm afraid I might hurt Yang. If we make it as far as marriage, that is…" admitted Weiss.

Cinder sat up and looked Weiss in the eye, "Weiss, listen to me. My wife is a complicated woman, and there are some times I wish she would spend more time with me, but I will _never_ give up on her. And I have a feeling Yang is the same exact way."

Weiss smiled at her old friend, "Thanks, Cinder," she said.

"It's what I'm here for," she smiled, "Now, is that everything you wanted to talk to me about, or are you going to invite me to dinner, too?" she teased.

Weiss blushed, "I'm sorry. Perhaps I should have simply asked you in the lobby."

"It's alright, Sweetie," smiled Cinder as she stood up, "I'm afraid I must get going now. I look forward to seeing you again."

"See you later, Cinder," waved Weiss as Cinder left the steam room.

Weiss was not exactly sure about how Cinder could know what she said about Yang, but she felt better none the less.

Now that she was alone, Weiss began to feel the sweat drip down her brow. The moisture began to make the towel that covered her nude form feel sticky and clammy.

And it was so unbelievably _hot._

Weiss sighed as she closed her eyes and opened her towel to let her skin touch the moist air. She immediately felt better and began to run her hands down her body. Slowly, her hands trailed further down and stopped at her navel.

She let her legs part as if they had a mind of their own.

The sound of the steam room door opening caused Weiss to hastily close her legs and wrap herself in the towel again.

 _Drat…_

She watched a large, round man walk in.

He attempted to greet her, but Weiss simply nodded at him and walked out. She hastily used the spa's showers to clean off the sweat and moisture before putting her clothes back on and walking outside.

Weiss pulled out her scroll and initiated a call with Yang, bringing it to her ear.

" _Hey, Babe! Are you in the dorm yet?"_ asked Yang from the other end.

"No, I've just left the spa," answered Weiss as she began to make her way to the airdock.

" _Really? It's been three hours. I said you only had to wait for two,"_ said Yang, confusion coming through with her voice.

"I ran into Cinder and we talked for a while," explained Weiss, refusing to tell Yang she was almost caught in the steam room.

" _Well get going! And send me a message when you get there!"_ shouted Yang before hanging up.

"What could possibly have that girl so excited," Weiss rolled her eyes as the air dock came into view.

* * *

Weiss sighed as she entered the dorm room, stretching as she kicked her boots off and let her feet feel the soft carpet.

She took her scroll, sent Yang a message saying she was here, and set it on her nightstand.

Glancing at her bed, she found a box with pink wrapping paper and a purple ribbon. She plucked the tag from the gift and read it aloud, "To my 'Weiss Baby,' from Yang?"

She shook her head and set the tag aside as she pulled the ribbon away and tore through the paper, careful to put all waste in the trash bin.

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the plain cardboard box she now held in her hands. She reached inside, felt a folded piece of paper, and pulled it out.

Setting the box aside, Weiss opened the paper and recognized Yang's handwriting.

* * *

_Hey hot stuff,_

_Leave it to me (your totally awesome, spectacular, amazing girlfriend) to get you the private time you so desperately need! I am currently dragging Rubes and Blake all over Vale and they will not be back until well into the night! Feel free to go nuts! Oh! And enjoy the small gift I got for you, too~_

_—Your totally awesome, spectacular, amazing girlfriend, Yang_

* * *

Weiss smiled and rolled her eyes, "So inconceivably talented at being inappropriate," she chuckled to herself.

She peeked in the box and immediately looked up.

"She did _not_ ," she said as she pulled the item out of the box.

In her hand was a brand new, sky blue item of interest.

_There is absolutely no way she bought me a vibrator!_

A click of the button on the bottom confirmed that it was indeed charged and ready for use.

Weiss stared, awestruck at the device for a few seconds as she bit her lip in anticipation.

_Well... Now that it's here..._

She turned the device off and quickly ran into the bathroom to retrieve a towel. After placing it on her bed, she disrobed and laid down with her hips resting on the towel.

The heiress picked up the vibrator and examined it as she rubbed her thighs together. She could feel her heart rate steadily rising until the familiar lightheaded feeling of arousal washed over her.

She began to trace her hands over her nude body as her breaths grew heavier.

Her scroll notified her of a message she received, causing the girl to groan and pick it up.

It was a message from Yang that had an attachment to it.

* * *

_Some food for thought ;)_

* * *

Weiss cautiously opened the image and felt her heart skip a beat at what she saw.

It appeared to be a picture that Yang took with her scroll in a public bathroom. The same bathroom where they shared their second kiss.

Yang had taken a picture of the mirror with her left hand while she stood, facing away from it so that Weiss could only see the backside of her. She wore nothing but her panties, giving Weiss a perfect view of Yang from behind. She had pulled her golden mane over her right shoulder, revealing her toned, muscular back, and was looking over her left shoulder with the most innocent expression she had ever seen on Yang.

It was _divine._

Weiss shut her scroll and stared at the bottom of Ruby's bunk, the image of Yang's strong back and shapely rear, burned into her mind's eye.

She could not wait any longer. She needed some relief, and she would have it at last.

Picking up Yang's gift, Weiss turned it on and welcomed the inexorable _ecstasy_ grow within her.

And afterward, with no medication and no nightmares to hinder her, she had the best sleep in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	25. The Best Friends

The warm light of a new day poured into team RWBY's still, quiet dorm room. The soft breaths of the sleeping heiress were so quiet, they could scarcely be heard over the wispy autumn winds outside.

Her body moved slightly as her mind slowly began to melt off the last remnants of a long night's respite.

The bed conformed so perfectly to the contours of her chest and stomach, and it was soft and snug under the blankets.

Weiss breathed in deeply through her nose and gradually opened an eye to find her wonderful girlfriend sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Yang glanced at Weiss and paused the game she was playing, "Hey there, Sleepy Head," she nearly whispered as she knelt beside Weiss' bed, "How do you feel?"

Weiss hummed with a smile as she closed her eye again, "I haven't felt this great in years," she sighed, her voice, raspy from overuse.

"I'll bet," giggled Yang, "You slept through half the day, and you're practically glowing."

Weiss opened her eyes to examine Yang's face. What a wonderful sight to begin the day with.

"I feel like I could do _anything_ right now," said Weiss, sitting up in her bed and stretching with a loud, drawn-out yawn as the blanket pooled around her hips.

Yang blushed as she found an interesting spot to stare at on the ceiling.

"I have _so_ much energy right now! It's strange, but it's also wonderful!" grinned Weiss, noticing that Yang's eyes were fixed on something, "What are you looking at?" she asked as she leaned forward so she could peek around Ruby's bed.

"U-uh, nothing. It's just that… You're n-not wearing a shirt," stuttered Yang.

Weiss looked down at her chest and confirmed her lack of clothes, "Oh my gosh!" she shouted as she threw her hands up over her chest.

"H-here," managed Yang as she held out Weiss' nightgown while shielding her eyes.

Weiss blushed and snatched the gown from Yang's hand, muttering a quick thank you. She timidly pulled it over her head and cleared her throat, indicating she was somewhat presentable.

Yang lowered her hand and looked up at Weiss as a smile cracked through her lips and she began to laugh.

Soon, the blush on Weiss' face vanished and she joined her girlfriend in effervescent laughter.

"So," began Yang after the laughter faded away, "Judging by how completely _drenched_ that towel was when I got here," she chuckled as she pointed at the towel Weiss placed over her bedsheets the night before, "I'm guessing you liked my gift?"

"Which one?" Weiss asked as she smirked and held up the blue toy, " _This_ , or the picture you sent me?"

"I'm going to say… Both?" asked Yang as she raised her finger.

Weiss giggled as she placed the toy on the damp towel, "Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed both of them."

"Yes!" shouted Yang as she jumped to her feet, "De-stressing Day was a success!"

Weiss rolled her eyes with a small smile, "You are _so_ inappropriate," she said.

"But you're not complaining," said Yang, pointing her finger at Weiss.

" _But_ I'm not complaining," Weiss repeated, "So, what did you do with Ruby and Blake?"

"They stayed in Jaune's room for the night. There was no way I was letting them in the dorm last night," said Yang, "Oh! I almost forgot! I have some really good news! It's so good that I _had_ to wait for you to wake up so I could tell you!"

Weiss smiled at Yang's eagerness and reached for her scroll on her nightstand, only to brush her fingers against her bottle of medication. She furrowed her brows and picked up the bottle, examining it while in deep thought.

"Uh, Weiss? Did you hear what I said?" asked Yang.

"Yang… I don't recall taking my medication last night," Weiss muttered.

"You must have been feeling really great last night to forget what you did," Yang giggled.

"No, I mean I didn't take them," began Weiss as she grinned at Yang, "As soon as I finished, I just got under the sheets and fell asleep!"

Yang pursed her lips before realization dawned on her, "Holy crap! You fell asleep on your own! You don't have to take your meds to sleep anymore!"

"I don't know how you did it!" cried Weiss, leaping out of bed as she laughed exuberantly, "Thank you! We should celebrate!"

"Not so fast, Weissy," chuckled Yang, "You still haven't heard the news."

"I am convinced _nothing_ could make me happier right now! I don't have to rely on medication to sleep anymore! I haven't had that luxury since I was little!" grinned Weiss.

"We'll see about that," chuckled Yang, "Roman called earlier and said he would assemble the dragon sculpture in the dance hall, _today!"_

Weiss gasped and gripped Yang's shoulders, "Really!?" she screeched.

"Yeah!" laughed Yang as a huge grin spread across her face.

Weiss hopped ebulliently in place, "This is so exciting! Ugh! I could kiss you right now!" she laughed, "I _will_ kiss you right now!" The heiress cupped Yang's face in her hands and pulled her down, pressing her lips onto hers, "You are the _best!"_

"What do you mean, 'I'm the best?' _You're_ the one who made this whole thing happen," Yang smiled, " _You_ are the best!"

Weiss blushed and looked away, "Oh shut up… _Y_ _ou're_ the best."

Yang giggled, "I am _really_ liking post-orgasm Weiss."

Weiss scoffed with a smile as she rolled her eyes, "We need to leave immediately! I want to be there when Roman arrives!" cheered Weiss as she ran to the door.

"Hold on a second, Babe!" Yang laughed as Weiss stopped in her tracks and looked at her, "You know you are still currently wearing nothing but your nightgown, right?"

Weiss looked down at herself and suddenly became aware of the smell she was currently expelling, "I'm going to go quickly take a shower," smiled Weiss, bashfully, as she ran into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Yang shook her head with a small smile, "I will _never_ get tired of her."

* * *

Weiss and Yang walked up to the dance hall, it's sheer size towering above them and the many workers that were putting everything in place.

"Yes…" Weiss said to herself as they stopped walking, "We can definitely get all the decorations up by the end of the week."

"Well, look at you being all optimistic!" smiled Yang.

"U-uh, welcome back ma'am," greeted a worker Weiss recognized from the previous workdays, "I hope you don't mind b-but a few of the other workers were getting cold working out here, and they went to Vale to get some coffee for the rest of us. W-we promise to get back to work as s-soon as they come back," she stuttered diffidently.

Weiss smiled at the worker, "Of course I don't mind. You are all allowed to have a break here and there," she said as the worker's jaw dropped, reminding her of how she acted the last time she was here, "I realize you might not have expected me to be so understanding. I was having a very hard time the last few weeks, and I'm sorry for the way I treated you and the other workers," she frowned.

"Oh! Don't even worry about it! Your friends already explained everything!" smiled the worker before walking away and getting back to work.

Weiss smiled at Yang and pranced to the door, "After you," she said as she held the large door open.

Yang grinned as she cupped Weiss' face and planted a long kiss on her cheek, "You're too kind," she hummed, sauntering into the edifice.

Weiss shivered and hummed in delight at the warmth she felt in her chest. It was surreal how Yang could make her feel that way with a simple, chaste kiss on the cheek.

Not wanting to keep her girlfriend waiting inside, Weiss walked into the dance hall and gasped at what she saw.

The walls were covered in vines and wallflowers of a variety of colors peppered about. Dust torches burned brightly, lighting up the whole hall, and brought the heiress' attention to the tables, clad in pristine, pearl tablecloths, doilies, and extravagant vases with no flowers in them. They were arranged exactly how she ordered them to be, and there was ample room for the dance floor with workers walking about and doing their jobs.

"Yang! I can't believe you did this!" Weiss laughed as she grinned at Yang, "We won't have any problem getting the outside decorated in time!"

Yang shook her head as she explored the interior of the dance hall, her mouth ajar, "I did _not_ do this."

Weiss furrowed her brows at Yang, "If you didn't do this… Then who did?"

"It looks like that long table goes all the way in the back! We're going to put the ice sculpture there on the day of!" shouted a voice from the back of the hall.

Weiss turned to where the voice came from and found Jaune holding Weiss' sketch of the layout for the dance hall. She also recognized the rest of her friends among the workers.

"Jaune?" questioned Weiss as she stomped towards her friend.

Jaune turned her attention to Weiss and froze, "Oh! H-hey Weiss!" he shouted, getting the attention of his team as well as Blake and Ruby.

" _You_ did this!?" Weiss shouted as she looked around again.

Team JNPR looked at each other, panicking and looking at Ruby or Blake for help.

"We're sorry, Weiss!" Nora began, "We know you didn't want anyone to see the dance hall before the dance!"

"But we knew how stressed out you were about getting the decorating finished in time," added Ren.

"We were only trying to help lessen the burden on your shoulders," explained Pyrrha.

Ruby and Blake glanced at each other and searched Weiss' face for any sign of clemency.

Weiss looked among all her friends that had gathered here to help her. Her lip trembled and she brought her hand up to shield her face as tears welled in her eyes.

"I d-don't know what I did to deserve friends like you!" she sobbed, "You're all such wonderful people! Thank you!"

Ruby's jaw dropped as she looked at Blake, who was also taken aback by Weiss openly weeping in front of them. Glancing at Team JNPR confirmed that they were also not prepared for this reaction.

"Don't cry, Weiss!" smiled Ruby as she sped into Weiss and hugged her tightly, "We're always here to help a friend in need."

Weiss sniffled as she wrapped her arms around her leader, "Thank you…"

"Group hug!" smiled Yang as she hugged the two girls from behind Weiss.

Nora laughed as she charged into the group, "I love group hugs!"

Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake giggled as they joined the hug, effectively encasing Weiss in their warmth.

It was here, literally surrounded in people she cared about that Weiss realized she truly was not alone.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" said a voice from the entrance of the dance hall.

All heads turned to the voice that belonged to Roman Torchwick.

"No," smiled Weiss as she wiped away the last of her tears, "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Great!" said Roman as a small girl with pink and brown hair handed him a folder, "The dragon is going to require some reassembling, but I have a picture of it with my partner here standing next to it for scale so you'll know what it looks like."

Weiss accepted the folder from Roman and took a deep breath before opening it. The dragon was massive: easily dwarfing Roman's tiny partner. It perfectly matched Weiss' design.

"Oh my gods… I'm going to cry again," sniffled Weiss as she showed the picture to her friends.

"Holy shit!" shouted Yang as she looked closer at the image, "That thing is huge! Is it even going to fit on the wall?"

"Just barely," boasted Roman, "It has to be our finest work so far!"

Weiss took a deep breath to avoid crying, "I think you have easily earned double your asking price. In fact, I think you have earned _triple_ the asking price," she smiled.

Roman and his partner looked at each other with wide eyes, "No! We can't take _that_ much lien! It's simply too much!"

"Dude. She's rich," smirked Yang.

"The funds will be transferred to you as soon as the dragon is assembled on _that_ wall," said Weiss as she pointed on the wall at the end of the dance hall, "If you need me, I'll be helping the workers outside with the decorations," she added as she made her way out of the dance hall.

This dance would undoubtedly be one to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	26. The Autumn Dance

"Weiss! Hurry up! We're already late!" voiced Yang as she leaned against the door of Team RWBY's dorm room.

"Sorry! Just a few more seconds!" called Weiss from the bathroom.

Yang smiled with a shake of her head. Normally, Weiss would never want to be late to a dance, especially one that she helped organize. Now, the heiress seemed much more relaxed about the whole thing.

During the last few days of organizing and after the dragon was assembled, Weiss was nothing but kind and patient with the workers, much to their surprise and astonishment. It helped, of course, that she had her friends to support her through the tough time she had the week prior.

Weiss walked out of the bathroom and smiled at Yang, "Okay, I'm ready."

Yang looked Weiss up and down, admiring the way her white dress hugged her upper body and allowed for some of her soft, creamy skin to be seen.

"You look beautiful, Babe," smiled Yang as she held out her arm for Weiss to grasp.

"Oh, I know," said Weiss, smugly as she accepted Yang's arm and left the dorm room to make their way to the dance hall.

"So confident!" Yang laughed as she glanced at her girlfriend, "I remember when you were super self-conscious about the way you looked. Especially with that scar," she added, her voice much less boisterous.

Weiss nodded as she snuggled closer into Yang's warm body, "I've changed a lot since then, it would seem," she whispered as she brushed her hair away from the scar over her left eye.

The two girls stepped out of the dorm building and were met with a dark, night sky and a chilled, autumn breeze. The sun had very recently set, signaling the beginning of the Autumn Dance.

"It looks like you were right about us being late," said Weiss as she bit her cheek.

"Don't worry," Yang chuckled, "I called Ruby and told her to get the DJ to start the music when the dance started."

"Wonderful," chirped Weiss as the two began walking down the path to the dance hall, "Then we can walk slowly and be alone for a while longer."

Yang smiled as Weiss rested her head on her shoulder. She let the quiet air take her to a peaceful place before the loud music of the dance would cloud her mind.

"How are you feeling?" asked Yang.

"Nervous," Weiss sighed.

"Really? You're doing a fantastic job of hiding it," Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you think I wanted to walk this slowly. I hate walking slowly," whined Weiss.

"Right," said Yang, nodding her head, "What's making you nervous?"

"I just," Weiss began, "I can't shake this feeling that people won't like the aesthetic we chose for the dance. They probably think the extra effort was… Overkill."

Yang laughed and rested her head on top of Weiss', "You are the _most_ adorable person I know."

Weiss looked up at Yang with a raised eyebrow, "Your sister is Ruby Rose," she reminded.

Yang thought for a moment, "You are the _second_ most adorable person I know," she said.

"That's what I thought," smirked Weiss.

"Anyway, going back to what I was going to say," began Yang, "Every single soul that sets foot in the dance hall tonight is sure to be blown away. Hell, I planned half the thing, and _I_ still can't believe how awesome everything looks."

Weiss nodded and looked ahead, "Yeah, you're right. I'm just crazy and overthinking this."

"You're not crazy. It's like you said:" Yang said as she tilted Weiss' head towards her, "You're just nervous."

Weiss smiled at Yang and took a deep breath before resuming resting her head on her shoulder, the loud music and cheerful voices slowly becoming more prominent.

"There you are!" cheered Ruby as she trotted towards them, nearly tripping over her high heels, "You guys took forever!"

Weiss ignored Ruby and took a moment to admire the work they did on the outside of the dance hall. Long, olive green vines hung from the grey stone and wrapped the building in an old fairytale. The torches that burned blue flames lit up the surrounding area in a comfortable hue that was easy on the eyes, especially at this time of night.

The large doors were open, inviting any guest that wanted to join as long as they were a Beacon Academy student or accompanying one.

"We did everything you asked of us, Yang," said Blake, snapping Weiss out of her trance.

"Great! But you two didn't have to wait for us out here," said Yang.

"Yeah," Weiss concurred, "You should be having fun with all the others inside."

"It's fine, we wanted to wait so we could congratulate you!" cheered Ruby.

Weiss and Yang shared a look of confusion.

"Congratulate us for what?" asked Weiss.

Ruby giggled and grabbed Weiss by the arm, dragging her to the entrance of the dance hall.

"See for yourself," Ruby whispered, barely holding in her excitement.

Weiss looked at Ruby like she was insane and walked through the large, wooden doors. The first thing she saw was the centerpiece of the dance: the magnificent, golden dragon that overlooked the entire hall from its perch on the far back wall. Its mouth was ajar and its burning, lilac gaze fell upon every guest that entered. The dark lighting gave the dragon a more fearsome appearance than in the daylight. That, on top of the decorations they had put up earlier, made the whole scene come to life.

She watched all the students laughing and chatting around the punch table. They were awestruck by the highly detailed ice sculpture of a castle that Weiss had made with her semblance hours before the dance began. Looking at the dance floor, Weiss was astonished to see all of Beacon's students—as well as some professors—having the time of their lives, dancing to the blasting music and flashing purple, blue, red, and green lights.

"The dance is a huge success, Weiss!" laughed Ruby, "All that hard work really paid off!"

Weiss was speechless. Even when Yang hugged her from behind, she could not tear her eyes away from the expressions of joy and laughter on everyone's faces.

Slowly, a glowing smile crept onto Weiss' face, "It _is_ a success, isn't it?" she asked herself.

"That's what I'm telling you!" cried Ruby as she zoomed towards the punch bowl, "Don't just stand there! Come have fun at your dance like the rest of us!"

"I'll make sure she doesn't have a sugar rush and crash," chuckled Blake as she rolled her eyes and went to follow their leader.

"Have fun, you two!" called Yang over the music, "But not too much fun!"

Weiss folded her arms and surveyed the dance hall one last time, "Ruby is right. It's time we reap what we have sown," she said tentatively as she turned to Yang, "What should we do first?"

Yang scoffed with a smile as she grabbed Weiss' hand and lead her to the dance floor.

Similar to the rave they went to earlier in the year, the atmosphere seemed to become lighter and filled with more levity.

"Let's dance for a while," smiled Yang as she ran her hands up Weiss' arms, "This _is_ called the Autumn _Dance_ , after all."

Before Weiss could say anything, Yang began to move her hips to the beat of the upbeat, electronic song, which was unassailably selected by the brawler for the dance.

Weiss' lip curled up as she sensed a discrepancy between them.

"That's hardly fair," Weiss mock whined, "You know I don't have much experience with dancing to this type of music!"

Yang smirked as Weiss joined her in moving to the music, "I had to play _my_ music in case we started a dance-off!"

"I always assumed you would let me win if that ever happened," purred Weiss.

"I only pick the battles I have a good feeling I can win," grinned Yang, "That's why I challenged you for the rights to plan this dance."

The smile on Weiss' face suddenly vanished and was replaced with a frown as she stopped dancing and turned slightly away from Yang.

Yang immediately stopped dancing, "Shit… Weiss, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said…" she trailed off as Weiss looked up at her with a devilish smirk, "You… Ugh! Damn it. You win," she giggled.

"You can't out-banter me, Xiao Long," giggled Weiss as they resumed dancing, "I think it's safe to say _I_ am the wittier of the two of us."

"I don't have to be wittier than you to out-banter you, my sweet little snowflake," said Yang as she inched closer to the heiress, "I have… Something _else."_

Weiss watched as Yang sauntered towards her. Yang, still moving her body to the beat, ran her hands through her golden mane and down her body.

Weiss nearly stopped her dancing as Yang slowly danced around her, lightly brushing her hands up the heiress' arm until she was directly behind her. She felt Yang's light breaths tickle the nape of her neck and shivered under the touch of Yang's hands as they found a place to rest on her hips.

The heiress let her eyes close until the warmth of Yang's hands disappeared. She opened her eyes to find Yang's face mere inches from her own. The proximity made her blush deeply.

"Gotcha~" Yang purred with a smirk before backing away and dancing again.

"I-it would seem we are evenly matched," stuttered Weiss as the red in her cheeks faded away.

"If you say so, Babe," giggled Yang as the song came to an end.

"Alright, you love birds out there!" called the DJ's voice over the large speakers, "I think it's about time we set the mood! Just try to keep it PG, ya dig?"

A wave of giggles and chortles echoed through the hall as a new, much slower song began to play over the speakers. One by one, the couples in the building pulled each other close and began to sway to the music.

Weiss turned to Yang, a light pink hue on her cheeks, and wordlessly found her hands resting behind Yang's neck as her girlfriend placed her hands on Weiss' hips. She looked up into Yang's eyes and felt safe under their watch.

With soft smiles, they slowly swayed as they were sealed in the music's delicate melody and the gentle light of the multicolored balls on the ceiling.

After what felt like a blissful eternity, Weiss pulled her gaze away from Yang's eyes and looked over Yang in her entirety.

Only Yang could make a simple, white sundress look so breathtaking.

"You look gorgeous tonight," Weiss whispered as her eyes locked back onto Yang's.

Such a simple compliment seemed to go great lengths for Yang, as her soft smile shifted into a toothy grin of pure happiness, "Thank you!" she whispered back.

"You know, this is the first time we've danced like this in public," said Weiss.

"Do you feel nervous?" Yang had to ask.

"For once… Not in the slightest," Weiss chuckled as they slowly began to turn.

"That's all that matters," smiled Yang as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Weiss'.

The two girls spent the rest of the slow song like this. Their heads stayed together as if to coalesce their two separate minds into one.

When the song ended, Weiss looked up at Yang and opened her mouth to say something.

"Excuse me students and professors of Beacon Academy. May I please have your attention," said a voice through the large speakers that undoubtedly belonged to Ruby Rose, "I just wanted to take a second to talk about my two teammates that made this whole dance possible! They just so happen to be the _cutest_ power couple to ever come to Beacon: Weiss Schnee and my sister, Yang Xiao Long!"

A loud roar of applause and shouts instantly filled the hall as a spotlight from the second floor of the hall shined down on Weiss and Yang.

"These two wonderful people worked very hard to bring _you_ —the greatest huntsmen and huntresses-in-training—the best dance _ever!_ I can also say that they are two of the most amazing friends who are nothing but kind and determined to be the best they can be," said Ruby as another round of applause rang through the hall, "It is for that reason that I give them the honor of the first waltz in this fairytale-themed dance to kick off the rest of the night!"

The students cheered again as they began to clear out of a section of the dance floor.

Weiss gasped and grinned widely, "I completely forgot about this!" she laughed and looked at Yang, "You remember how to waltz, right?"

Yang held out her hand for Weiss with a smile, "It's just like riding a bike," she said as Weiss took her hand.

The spotlight followed the two girls as they made their way through the crowd and into the open space that was made for them.

They curtsied to each other and closed the gap between them. The voices in the hall faded away like an evanescent smoke as Yang placed her right hand on Weiss' side and held the heiress' right hand in her left. Meanwhile, Weiss placed her dominant hand on Yang's shoulder, smiling up at her and waiting for the music to begin.

Like silk being twined into string, the live string quartet began their song. It was a slow waltz that reverberated through the hall like a dream would in a calm, sleeping mind.

As the music moved the hearts of all that listened, so did Weiss and Yang. Their eyes never left each other, despite all the eyes watching them share this tender moment. A moment they would remember for the rest of their lives. A moment where they were free to be together amongst anyone who would judge them or support them.

When the strings finally stopped making their angelic sounds, the spectators of Weiss and Yang's waltz began to clap and holler. But Weiss was not listening to them, and Yang was not either. They continued to look each other in the eyes until Weiss wrapped her arms around Yang and rested her head on her shoulder.

Soon, someone from the crowd began to chant something. Neither Weiss nor Yang could hear what she was saying until the voice grew louder as its owner came closer to the front of the crowd.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" chanted Nora Valkyrie as the rest of Team JNPR came up behind her to try to silence her.

But it was too late. Nora's chant had caught on and now the whole hall was chanting for the two girls in the spotlight to kiss each other, including Ruby over the speakers.

Weiss looked up at Yang, noticing that Yang was blushing just as badly as she was.

"Should we do it?" asked Yang, diffidently.

"Who am I to deny the people what they want," smiled Weiss as the blush on her face disappeared with her trepidation.

Yang smiled softly at Weiss as she cupped Weiss' cheek in her hand and softly kissed her lips, trying hard to keep it short and chaste.

As soon as her their lips touched, the students burst out into loud cheers, causing Weiss and Yang to laugh when they split apart.

"What an adorable couple! DJ Coal digs it!" shouted the DJ over the speakers, "But I think it's time we get back to partying!"

The loud music blasted once again as the students flooded back onto the dance floor with loud cheers. Soon, Weiss and Yang were surrounded by them.

Weiss grasped Yang's hand in her hands, "Let's go to the balcony!" she shouted over the loud music.

"I'm right behind you!" shouted Yang as Weiss began to weave through the crowd towards the stairs with Yang's hand still clasped in her own.

They giggled exuberantly as they climbed the stairs until they were away from the noise and now surrounded by the crisp, night air of autumn.

Weiss laughed as she let go of Yang's hand and twirled while looking up into the sky, "Look at the stars!" she laughed as she rested her back on the railing of the balcony.

Yang stood at the entrance of the balcony as she took in the view.

Weiss' platinum hair glowed under the moonlight. Her wide, icy blue eyes popped from the dark background. She was a sight to behold.

"So beautiful…" hummed Yang as she slowly walked towards Weiss.

"Yeah… It's hard to believe they're just giant balls of gas that will burn for billions of years before exploding," sighed Weiss.

"I wasn't talking about the stars," smirked Yang as she stood beside Weiss, "You big nerd."

Weiss chuckled as she turned around and looked out at the buildings in the distance. The City of Vale was truly a sight to be seen. Thousands of lights glowed as people continued to live their lives and refuse to sleep. It was almost more beautiful than the stars.

Weiss could not believe how happy she felt right now. After everything she had to go through this year, things were finally getting easier. All she needed was a push in the right direction from the right person.

"Yang?" Weiss nearly whispered.

"Mhm?"

"Can I say something? It will be quick, and then we can get back to the dance," said Weiss as she turned to face Yang.

Yang turned to Weiss, giving her full attention, "You can take as much time as you need," she smiled.

Weiss smiled and took a deep breath before turning towards the City of Vale again, "When I came to Beacon, I was cold and broken… I lived in constant fear. I felt that I had to be perfect in everything I did simply because of my name, and I felt like I had to _live_ above everyone else as if I truly _was_ above everyone else. I felt like I was forgotten, unwanted… Alone."

Yang looked at Weiss' face and expected some kind of emotion to show through, but she remained stoic.

"But then _you_ came along," chuckled Weiss, "I thought you were nothing but a nuisance that I would have to deal with for the rest of my time at Beacon. I'm glad to say that you have become _so_ much more. We went from enemies to teammates to friends and then to what we are now."

Yang smiled as she watched the grin on Weiss' face grow.

"Now I feel wonderful," Weiss laughed as she closed her eyes and basked in the starlight, "Thanks to you, I know that it's okay to not always be perfect, and it's okay to be afraid as long as that fear doesn't control me. You saw my cold demeanor and you were patient, determined, and unbelievably stubborn," she giggled as she turned to Yang and held both her hands, "You gave me a chance to show you the person who I want to be. You gave me the opportunity to make friendships that will last a _lifetime_. And you gave me something I have only ever had with Winter in the past."

Yang tilted her head, "What would that be?" she asked.

Weiss closed the distance between herself and Yang, hugging the blonde tightly and resting her head in the crook of her neck, "A home…"

Yang's eyes widened as the outstanding impact she made on Weiss was finally, _truly_ made known to her. A wide grin, wider than any smile she had ever made before, slowly graced her lips.

"Thank you, Yang," whispered Weiss as she lifted her head and gazed fondly into Yang's lilac orbs, "For giving me a home."

Yang wrapped her hands around Weiss and pulled her into a deep kiss. She felt Weiss bring her arms around her neck, pulling her even further into the kiss as they poured every ounce of affection they had for each other into it.

This was one of the ways Weiss felt she could show Yang exactly how happy she was in this moment. All alone with Yang.

"You're welcome," breathed Yang as she broke the kiss and held Weiss close.

Weiss let her eyelids fall closed again as she stood, enveloped in Yang's arms. She could not feel the chilly night air nip at her skin thanks to Yang's warm presence. She knew she could be happy as long as she was with Yang.

"Let's go back to the dorm," hummed Weiss, snuggling into the crook of Yang's neck.

Yang pursed her lips and leaned back so she could show Weiss her confused expression, "You want to leave? What about the dance? Don't you want to stay here and enjoy your achievement for as long as you can?"

"You mean _our_ achievement," Weiss corrected as she looked up at Yang, "And no, I think I've had my fair share of the dance. It has already been so wonderful. I'm sort of in the mood for a movie and cuddles in the dorm. If _you_ are up for it of course."

Yang nearly laughed, "No! No! I think that's a great idea! If I ever say 'no' to cuddles, I want you to shoot me. The real me is probably already dead."

Weiss giggled, making Yang's heart flutter, as she pulled Yang back towards the stairs, "Hurry up then, or I'll shoot you anyway!"

Weiss and Yang laughed as they weaved through the dance hall, hand in hand. They were certain no one even realized they had left.

It was surprisingly thrilling to run off and sneak away together. They even hid when they saw a lonely student or professor walking around the campus, covering their mouths to stop themselves from bursting into laughter.

They soon made it back inside the dorm building. There was absolutely no one there. Even the custodians had clocked out for the night. Yet still, they giggled quietly as they clumsily tiptoed through the halls and up the stairs until they found themselves in the dorm room.

"Okay," Yang sighed as the rest of her giggles subsided, "What movie do you want to watch? I've got a bunch on my scroll, or I can rent one."

"It doesn't matter to me," shrugged Weiss, "As long as we get to cuddle, I'm okay with anything. But first I want to get out of this dress."

Yang pulled out her scroll and began searching for a movie to watch, "I'll pick a movie while you change in the bathroom," she said without looking up from her scroll.

"Yeah, good idea," said Weiss, the smile on her face never faltering.

Weiss plucked her nightgown from her bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She looked in the mirror, examining the scar over her left eye. With a contented sigh, she unzipped her dress and let it fall to the ground, her bra not far behind. After pulling the tiara out of her hair, Weiss slipped her nightgown over her head and smiled as the end extended to her thighs.

Everything was wonderful. Her night with Yang went without a hitch! She was able to dance with her girlfriend and even kiss her without a care in the world. She felt as close to Yang as ever.

Smiling at herself again in the mirror, Weiss thought about what would come next in their relationship. Was it even possible to get even closer to Yang?

Weiss stood there, wondering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	27. A Night To Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explicit content ahead!

Yang hummed to herself as she slipped a yellow t-shirt over her chest. Now that she was in her pajamas, she could focus on finding the right movie for herself and Weiss to watch together.

"Hm… No…" she said as she scrolled passed an action thriller movie, "Maybe if I was picking a movie to watch with Rubes… What's this?"

Yang clicked on a movie that appeared to be a romantic comedy. A quick viewing of the trailer confirmed this to be true.

 _I think Weiss will like this..._ _All positive reviews! Looks like we have a winner!_

Yang sat down on Weiss bed, playing a game on her scroll while she waited for her to come out of the bathroom. Minutes ticked by as she progressed through a few levels.

"Yang…" called Weiss just as Yang defeated a boss she was fighting.

"Hey, Babe," smiled Yang as she pulled up the movie on her scroll, "I found a movie for us to watch. It's a romantic comedy about this girl who moves to—"

"I don't want to watch a movie," interrupted Weiss as she timidly glanced away from Yang.

Yang pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows, "But I thought… I don't understand," she frowned, sounding disappointed.

Weiss sighed as she stood up straight and looked Yang in her beautiful, confused lilac irises, "I'm ready to take the next step in our relationship."

Yang stood up and looked Weiss up and down, her mouth ever so slightly ajar, "And what would that be, exactly? Just to make sure I'm thinking what you're thinking," said Yang, carefully.

Weiss tilted her head to the side and let out an amused huff, "I've been thinking about us lately. We've grown very close to each other, and I like you a lot, and I trust you. But I want _more._ I want to get even closer. _Physically._ "

"Oh," said Yang, her eyes widening slightly, "So, you're ready for…"

"Yes," said Weiss, clearing her throat, "I'm ready to have sex."

Yang grinned and let out a chuckle, wondering if this night could get any better.

"Wait," began Yang, her expression shifting dramatically to one of seriousness, "Last week, when I said we should talk about this, I wasn't trying to push you to do anything you don't want to. I need you to tell me that you aren't doing this because you feel _pressured_ to."

"I'm not," said Weiss as she shook her head.

"I need to hear you say it," Yang pleaded.

Weiss smiled fondly at Yang, appreciating her care for her wellbeing, "I am not going to have sex with you because I feel pressured to do so. I _want_ this to happen."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Yang had to ask.

"I'm sure," nodded Weiss.

"Okay," sighed Yang as her serious expression morphed into a soft smile, "But if you want to stop at any time, all you have to do is give me the word."

"I know, Yang. Remember that I have some experience," Weiss reminded.

"You're right," Yang chuckled as she stepped closer to Weiss.

Weiss looked up at Yang as the latter placed her hands on Weiss' hips and slid them around the small of her back. Their faces were close, and Weiss could make out every small detail in Yang's features. Every inch of her was beautiful and made Weiss' heart flutter a little faster.

Weiss slowly brought her arms up and folded them around the back of Yang's neck, bringing her face closer to Yang's. Their lips had not even met, yet their breaths had become heavy. She felt dizzy as she breathed in Yang's warm air, and it only served to make her want to close the small distance even more.

Yang took one last peek at Weiss' beautiful, baby blue eyes and let her eyelids flutter shut as she pressed a soft kiss onto her lips. With each passing second, more and more passion grew behind each girl.

Weiss sighed into the kiss as she let her body relax into Yang's embrace.

Not expecting the sudden weight on her, Yang took a step backward and bumped into the door. She gently turned their bodies so Weiss now had her back to the door and pushed her against it.

With her back now on the door, Weiss began to feel a warmth pulse within her, making her press her lips onto Yang's with more force.

Yang reciprocated in kind and trailed her hand from Weiss' hip, up her body, and onto her cheek, cupping it so she could keep her lips on Weiss' more easily. The kindling fire in Yang's chest began to gain strength as she kept Weiss firmly pinned to the door and caressed her hip and torso with her free hand.

The temperature in the small dorm room seemed to rise steadily as Weiss opened her mouth to allow Yang's tongue entry and the freedom to explore it.

Yang began to gently prod Weiss lips with her tongue before entering her mouth and massaging Weiss' tongue with her own. She smiled into the kiss at the sweet taste of a breath mint Weiss must have taken in the bathroom. She rewarded Weiss for her thoughtfulness by moving her fingers into Weiss' hair.

"I _really_ like it when you leave your hair down," Yang rasped in between kisses.

"I _really_ like it when you weave your fingers through it," Weiss sighed as she lifted her leg up around Yang's hip.

Yang hummed as she ran her hand down Weiss' creamy, slender leg. She had always wanted to touch her like this, and now that she _was_ , she found it was everything she had expected and more. She began to brush her fingers through Weiss' hair, feeling how soft and warm she was.

Weiss let out a soft moan as she moved one of her hands down Yang's body and onto her abs. The skin was warm to the touch and felt like tempered steel.

"Yang… Bed…" mewled Weiss as Yang pulled away from Weiss' lips.

Yang did not answer, opting instead to grab hold of Weiss' other leg and hoist her up.

Weiss locked her legs around Yang's waist as she cupped Yang's face in her hands and continued kissing her deeply.

Yang walked toward Weiss' bed, knowing exactly where it was despite not being able to see, and gently laid Weiss down so her head was on the foot end of the bed. She took a step back and admired the view of her girlfriend lying there with her hands resting on either side of her head. Burning that image into her mind, Yang crawled on top of Weiss and positioned her leg in between Weiss' knees and her hands on either side of her stomach.

Weiss blushed as Yang looked down on her with labored breaths. She watched as Yang smiled warmly and lowered her head down so she could whisper in her ear.

"I want to make you feel _good..."_ Yang cooed.

Weiss shivered as Yang's warm whispers tickled her ear and huffed as she felt her softly bite her earlobe.

"You're really good at this," Weiss husked as Yang chuckled deeply.

"You're not the only one with experience," she whispered as she began to sift her fingers through Weiss' hair again.

The hot feeling in Weiss' body flared once again as Yang began to kiss Weiss' chin and jawline. She found her hands climbing around Yang's back and roaming underneath her shirt, finally getting to feel the strong, muscular back that plagued her mind more often than it should.

Yang positioned her elbow around Weiss' shoulder so she could rest on one arm while her other hand roamed from Weiss' flat stomach to her slim legs. She brushed her lips against Weiss' ear again.

"Can I touch you?" she purred, playing with the end of Weiss' nightgown with her hand.

"You may," breathed Weiss as she leaned up to capture Yang's elusive lips.

Yang hummed as she slid her hand under Weiss' nightgown, tracing the soft curves and protrusions of her pelvic bone and stomach.

Weiss let out a long, drawn-out breath at the feeling of Yang's hand caressing her body. The way she so very gently explored her made her head lean back as the hot feeling inside her spread to her core.

Yang began to trail kisses from Weiss' collar bone up her neck until she came across her pulse point. She could feel her own excitement rise at the hitch in Weiss' heavy breaths when she began to suck on it lightly while pushing her fingers through her hair again. The way Weiss tilted her head to make more room for Yang's lips nearly made her moan. Meanwhile, Yang's other hand continued to run up and down Weiss' torso, lightly squeezing the soft flesh of Weiss' bottom before stopping just below her breast.

Weiss almost did not notice Yang's hand had stopped moving as her breathing became heavier from Yang's warm tongue on her throat.

"Go ahead," Weiss whimpered, sensing that Yang would not move without her permission.

As Weiss suspected, Yang's hand traveled farther up under her nightgown, raking the cloth up and exposing more of her creamy, white skin to the soft light of the dorm room. Yang tenderly grasped Weiss' petite breast in her hand, eliciting a barely audible grown from her. She slowly began to knead the mound of soft flesh, listening to Weiss' breathing as it grew steadily huskier.

Yang continued to lick and suck on Weiss pulse point for a little longer before halting and moving back to Weiss' lips, inserting her tongue into her mouth. Yang noticed Weiss' mouth was much warmer and wetter than the last time her tongue paid it a visit.

"Help me get this thing off," groaned Weiss as she pulled at her nightgown.

Yang sat up slightly so she could lift Weiss' gown up and over her head, revealing the perky breasts she had just been fondling. Yang bit her lip as she leaned towards Weiss and ran her hands up Weiss' stomach and onto her breasts.

Weiss hummed as Yang squeezed and gently rolled her pink nipples between her fingers. They were already stiff and sent ripples of evanescent pleasure through her body. She could feel the moisture between her legs grow wetter as Yang gently pushed her back onto the bed.

Yang let out a heavy breath as she sat up and grabbed her shirt from the bottom and pulled it over her head, throwing it across the room with a flick of her massive blonde mane.

Weiss felt her mouth begin to water at the sight of Yang's magnificent breasts. Her anticipation grew as Yang lowered her body back onto Weiss', pushing her chest against hers.

Yang felt her arousal jump at the spike in Weiss' breathing. The way their nipples rubbed against each other made her core throb wantonly.

Yang weaved her fingers through Weiss' hair as she captured her lips again, hungrily pouring her want for Weiss into a kiss.

Weiss could feel her panties becoming more soiled by the second as Yang's other hand roamed in circles all over her body.

Yang touched all over Weiss' skin, sliding her hand over her ribs and down to her legs until she moved her hand onto Weiss' inner thigh.

Weiss' eyes shot open at the electric touch, raising the leg that was between Yang's.

Yang broke the kiss with a desperate grunt at the pressure of Weiss' thigh on her core. She bit her lip as she gazed into Weiss' eyes and slowly pumped her hips back and forth on it.

The pure ecstasy on Yang's face filled Weiss with a lusty desire. The way Yang's breaths began to grow shallow as she ground her privates on her. The way their chests rubbed against each other with more vigor. The feeling of Yang's wetness _seeping_ through her shorts and making her thigh _slick._

Weiss leaned up and softly clamped her teeth on Yang's lower lip, pulling her back down onto her.

Yang resumed her kisses on Weiss' chin and neck as her fingers began to pick at Weiss' utterly _drenched_ panties. She halted her grinding for a brief moment, staring huskily into Weiss' eyes with a silent question, her breathing refusing to settle.

Weiss nodded her head, and Yang resumed her grinding with a moan.

Yang watched Weiss' face as she rubbed her hand over her panties, the wetness only serving to increase her own arousal.

Yang moaned again at the shaky breath that escaped Weiss' lips as she slowly stroked her folds through her underwear. She watched Weiss' expression become more desperate _._

"You are so _beautiful,"_ Yang purred through ragged breaths as her fingers became coated in Weiss' sweet nectar.

Weiss could not answer as Yang moved her hand up and slipped them into her panties. She let out a moan and bit down on her knuckle to quiet herself as Yang parted her folds and stroked her fingers between them.

Yang huffed as she continued to grind on Weiss' thigh, placing her forehead on Weiss'. She could feel Weiss trembling underneath her as she whimpered through the knuckle between her teeth.

"You can be as loud as you want," Yang cooed, moaning louder as her grinding picked up speed, "No one can hear you… They're all at the dance."

Weiss opened her eyes to gaze into Yang's. Her breaths became quicker as Yang increased her speed, sliding her fingers between her soaked folds. She removed the knuckle from her mouth and gasped as Yang teased her entrance.

"Please moan for me, Baby," pleaded Yang as her fingers continued to glide past Weiss' entrance.

"P-please…" Weiss stuttered, wanting nothing more than for Yang to fill her up.

Yang closed the gap between their lips, moaning and sending vibrations through Weiss' mouth.

Weiss sent a guttural moan into Yang's lips as she felt her finger slowly slide inside of her, rubbing against her soft inner tissue.

Yang felt Weiss clamp tightly around her finger as she began to pump it in and out. She did not dare stop grinding her own mound on her thigh.

By now, Yang's juices began to drip down Weiss' leg, soaking into Weiss' panties as well. She began panting as her peak was approaching. Not wanting to reach orgasm alone, Yang moved her thumb over Weiss' core in search of the small bud that would send her head through the clouds.

Weiss began to roll her hips on Yang's hand, moaning louder by the second and trying to force Yang's finger even deeper inside her. She could feel her insides tighten around Yang's finger as the sparks of burning ecstasy began to burst into flames.

Sweat began to drip off her under the heat of Yang's warm pants and moans. She could feel a pressure forming in her core, and could tell Yang was almost there.

"Don't stop!" moaned Weiss as Yang slipped a second finger inside of her, pumping faster while continuing her search of Weiss' bud.

Yang would never forget the look on Weiss' face when she found it.

Weiss threw her head back with an intense moan. She immediately began panting unevenly, grasping the bedsheets in a white-knuckled grip as her whole body began to tremble under Yang.

"Y-yang!" Weiss stuttered between moans, "I'm g-gonna…"

Weiss trailed off as Yang grasped the back of her head, "Look at me," she panted.

Weiss locked her eyes onto Yang's as her panting shifted into near-continuous moaning. Yang's fingers rapidly pumped inside her throbbing core as her thumb rubbed her little red button at the apex of her sopping folds.

Yang bit her lip as she felt herself nearing the edge. She increased the speed of her hand even more, wanting to send Weiss over the edge with her.

Weiss practically gasped for breath as Yang's fingers pushed her closer. She looked into Yang's irises with pleading eyes, begging for her to give her the sweet release that she needed. She did not dare look away when Yang finally gave it to her.

Weiss' jaw dropped and trembled in a silent scream until an ear-splitting moan overtook her, followed by another deafening moan from Yang as she bucked her hips.

Weiss kept her eyes on Yang as shockwaves of electric ecstasy pulsed from her core and through her body. She arched her back and lifted her hips off the bed, taking Yang's fingers deep inside her, trying to absorb every inch of pleasure from them. She began to see the stars around Yang's beautiful face as the intense pleasure began to dissolve. Her tight core finally relaxed around Yang's fingers, allowing the blonde to slowly slide out of her, sending shivers and aftershocks down her spine.

Yang flipped onto her back beside Weiss as her breathing steadily returned to normal.

"That was…" Weiss smiled through labored breaths, "Inconceivable…"

"I don't think… I've ever had so much fun… From grinding on someone," Yang huffed as she turned to her side and captured Weiss' lips in a soft, chaste kiss before laying on her back again, "You up for that movie now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the lack of a response, "Weiss?"

Yang looked back at Weiss to find her peacefully asleep. Her breaths were now slow and full, completely different from how they were mere minutes ago.

"Looks like someone is exhausted," She chuckled to herself as she got up and slid Weiss' soaked panties down her legs and lifted the sleeping girl, placing her head on a pillow.

She hummed to herself as she slipped out of her own soiled shorts and flicked the dorm room's light off before laying down and wrapping her arms around Weiss, making sure they were both completely covered by the blanket.

Yang inhaled the scents they were both exuding, smirking at the musky smell of sex. She made Weiss very happy today.

She closed her eyes, picturing the face Weiss made when she reached her climax.

All in all, this was _destined_ to be a night to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	28. Role Models

Weiss sighed contentedly as she watched Yang yank the last vine off the towering walls of the dance hall. It had taken the two of them a whole week to return the building to its original state now that the next semester of classes had begun. Every vine, flower, table, and chair were now either in the trash or donated to the academy for use in next year's dance.

The heiress did not have the heart to destroy the large dragon sculpture they commissioned, so she and her girlfriend thought it would be a good idea to donate it to a local art museum in Vale. The dragon had been the first thing to leave the dance hall on the day after the Autumn Dance. Reassembly in the museum was finished yesterday.

"That's the last of it," Yang sighed as she placed the vine in a trash bag and dusted off her hands, "I'm kind of sad to see it back the way it was."

"Me too," Weiss agreed, "I think everyone else would feel the same way if they saw the dance hall right now. Not after how much everyone loved it last week."

"I knew they would love it," Yang chuckled, "Anyway, now that that's over with, are you ready to head out?"

"You have no idea," Weiss smirked as she locked her fingers with Yang's and clung onto her arm, pulling it close to her chest, "It's been the only thing on my mind all day."

Today, Weiss and Yang were going on a date and thought that same museum would be a wonderful place to go. They would have a look at Roman's dragon in its new, permanent home as well as peruse through some of the works of Weiss' favorite artists from Vale. It was sure to be an easy, relaxing afternoon between the two girls.

"And when we get back, maybe we could do something more… Strenuous?" asked Weiss, slyly as they started down the path back to central campus.

"That depends if Blake and Ruby are in the dorm when we get back," Yang laughed, "I don't think they'd appreciate you screaming your head off while they're in the room."

"That's hardly _my_ fault," Weiss smirked, "You're the one who caused me to make such noises, Miss _Magic Hands."_

Yang smiled at the nickname as she ran her hand through her long, voluminous hair with her free hand, "What can I say? I just did what makes me feel good to you, and you better believe I know how to make myself feel good."

"Oh, I believe you all right," Weiss giggled, "And now, so does Blake."

Yang bit her cheek as she recalled the next morning of her first time with Weiss. Their soiled clothing was scattered around the room and there was a sizable wet spot on the blanket they were cuddling under. Their teammates were not in the room when they woke up, but there was a sticky note on Yang's forehead.

* * *

_PLEASE WARN ME IN ADVANCE NEXT TIME. YOU'RE LUCKY YOUR SISTER DIDN'T WALK IN BEFORE I DID!_

_~ Blake_

* * *

"In hindsight, we probably should've put a sock on the door or something," said Yang as Weiss laughed.

"I'm glad they had fun at the dance, though," sighed Weiss, changing the subject.

"Yeah," Yang giggled, "I don't regret leaving the dance early, but I really wish I saw Rubes crowd surfing in person! I wouldn't have believed it if Nora didn't show me the video."

"The look on Blake's face was priceless," laughed Weiss.

"That whole night was priceless," Yang smiled as she looked at Weiss, "I wouldn't change a single thing about it if I could."

Weiss hummed in agreement and fell silent. She enjoyed walking with Yang, alone on the path to and from the dance hall. She would miss this dearly, but she could not help but feel relieved that the dance was over with. It was always satisfying to successfully complete a project.

"You know what we should do after this semester?" Yang asked as they arrived at the central campus, "We should stay at my house in Patch. You could meet my dad, and I could show you around. It's _beautiful_ in the spring."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Yang," Weiss smiled, "I was afraid I would have to stay here for the vacation because there is _no way_ I am going home."

"I figured as much," chuckled Yang, "I think my dad will like you a lot. Then again, my dad likes _everyone."_

Weiss giggled as she looked up at the sky. It was bright and blue with a few fluffy white clouds scattered about. Now that they were nearing the air dock, more shuttles and airships could be seen flying above the campus.

"He's a great dad," Yang smiled, "I was afraid he would get upset with me when I started dating girls, but when I brought my first girlfriend home one day, he didn't even bat an eye!"

"Way to rub it in," smirked Weiss as an extravagant airship soared above them and caught her attention. Her mouth fell ajar as her eyes widened dramatically.

"Sorry," Yang laughed apologetically, "I wasn't trying to—"

"I can't believe it…" Weiss whispered to herself as she burst into a full sprint for the air docks.

"Weiss!?" Yang shouted as she ran after the heiress, "Why are we running!?"

Weiss looked up at the airship she was trailing. It was obviously Atlesian in design and had a regal look to it. It was certainly above the extravagance of the average Atlesian airship. This one, in particular, belonged to someone Weiss knew well. Or at least _thought_ she knew well.

Weiss kept her pace, ignoring Yang's pleas for her to slow down and explain.

"Weiss! Wait up!" cried Yang as the distance between them steadily grew.

Weiss could not wait. She had to face the person on that airship. She picked up speed, weaving through several students making their way about the campus as the air docks came into view.

The airship glided onto the distant platform and slowly powered down. The bay doors smoothly slid open, ejecting a ramp and allowing a man to step onto it.

The heiress pushed herself harder. She could not believe her eyes. The banners on the airship soon came into view. They bared the sigil of exactly who she knew the ship belonged to. She watched as a tall woman stepped onto the ramp and turned to address the man.

 _She_ was here.

"Winter!" shouted Weiss, a grand smile plastered on her face as she slid to a stop at the bottom of the ramp.

The woman held still, keeping her back turned to Weiss and her focus on the man in front of her. Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath and waved off the man, a pilot by the look of his attire. Finally, she turned to face the heiress.

The hardened gaze of Winter Schnee fell on Weiss as she slowly, gracefully glided down the ramp. She looked even more refined and mature than when Weiss last saw her, which was something the heiress did not think was possible. Other than that, she looked like the same Winter she always knew, only a bit older.

"Good afternoon, Sister," greeted Winter, watching as Yang caught up to Weiss and heeled over to catch her breath, "It is a pleasure to see you again."

Winter turned her head back to Weiss and examined her face. Her hardened eyes softened at the sight.

"I am so happy to see you, Winter!" laughed Weiss as she wiped her watering eyes with her sleeve, "It's been far too long!"

"What happened to you?" questioned Winter as she leaned her face closer to Weiss'.

Weiss clasped her hands in front of her as a confused expression formed on her face, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I'm a bit taller now, I suppose?" offered Weiss.

Winter furrowed her eyebrows and removed one of her gloved hands from behind her back, grasping Weiss' face in her hand and tilting it so she could have a closer look.

"You have a scar on your face, Weiss," said Winter as she examined the injury.

"Oh, right," said Weiss as she glanced at Yang, "That's sort of a long story."

"One I would very much like to hear at some point during my stay," frowned Winter as she released Weiss' face and straightened up her posture.

Weiss gasped and grinned up at her sister, "You're staying at Beacon!?" she shouted before regaining her composure, "What are you doing here? Official Atlesian military business, perhaps?"

Winter looked up at the monumental towers of Beacon Academy as she clasped her hands behind her back, "Actually, no. I am currently on my leave of absence."

"Oh," Weiss said, nodding her head, "I don't suppose you came all the way to Vale during your leave just to visit me?" she frowned.

"On the contrary, that's exactly why I came here," said Winter, stoically, "As you said earlier: it has been far too long since the last time we were together."

Weiss' eyes lit up as her glumness vanished within seconds. After nearly a decade, she would be able to spend some quality time with her sister!

"This is wonderful!" Weiss cheered, "There is _so_ much we have to catch up on! How about we go to the garden right now and—"

"Stop," Winter ordered, effectively silencing Weiss mid-sentence, "It would seem your _manners_ were lost to you in your excitement. You have yet to introduce me to your compatriot beside you."

"Of course. My apologies," said Weiss with a disciplined nod as she straightened her posture.

"Do not fret. I understand some time has passed since we last convened," said Winter, her stoic expression hardly shifting as she looked Yang up and down, "So, tell me. What is your name?"

"Hi! I'm Yang!" greeted Yang, offering her hand to Winter, "I'm Weiss' g—"

"Teammate!" Weiss interrupted.

Weiss cringed at her outburst and glanced at Yang to find her with a look of disbelief and a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"Friend," said Weiss as she shyly looked up at Winter.

Winter raised an eyebrow as her scrutinizing eyes switched between the two girls before her.

"I see," said Winter as she cleared her throat and grasped Yang's now limp hand in her own, "Winter Schnee: specialist of the Grand Atlesian Military at your service."

"Nice to meet you, Winter," said Yang as she tore her gaze away from Weiss and looked at Winter, "I'm Yang! Weiss' _friend!"_ she repeated through clenched teeth.

"Right…" said Winter as an awkward silence fell upon them.

"So! As I was saying," Weiss piped up, shattering the silence into pieces, "So much has changed since you left, Winter! There is a nice location in the garden that I _know_ you will adore! We can talk and have some tea there!"

"I am aware of the location you speak of, as I have visited Beacon in the past," admitted the specialist, "I actually had tea with your headmaster there. Speaking of your headmaster, I'm afraid I won't be able to do anything until I speak with Professor Ozpin to inform him of my arrival and obtain an adequate room to store my belongings."

"Let me come with you! I can guide you to Professor Ozpin's office and we can talk on the way," Weiss begged.

"That will be… Unnecessary," said Winter as she glanced at the frowning brawler who has now turned away from Weiss, "I am more than capable of finding my way to your headmaster's office. I would also prefer we reconnect in a private and tranquil manner. No distractions or destinations in mind. Just us two sisters, alone."

"I think I understand," frowned Weiss, "When will that be, exactly?"

Winter shook her head at her sister's eagerness with a hint of a smile, "Give me your scroll," she commanded.

Without hesitation, Weiss plucked her scroll from the pouch at the base of her back and placed it in the waiting palm of Winter.

The specialist opened the scroll and swiftly tapped away on it before handing it back to her sister.

"I have created a contact on your scroll with my new scroll ID on it," Winter explained as her own scroll vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the name, confirming the message she sent to herself from Weiss' scroll had come through, "It would seem everything is in working order. You are to send me the location of your dorm room. The moment I am settled somewhere on campus, I will visit your dorm where we will plan the rest of the day together. Are you satisfied with this plan, or is there something you wish to alter?"

Weiss stared at her scroll, her mouth ever so slightly ajar. She now had the means to contact Winter whenever she wanted. There was no need to send letters anymore! She could talk to Winter and receive a response immediately. Granted, Winter's busy schedule never allowed for her to write back to her. At least, that was what Weiss assumed.

"Weiss," voiced Winter, her commanding tone even startling Yang, "It is impudent to disregard someone whilst they are speaking to you."

"My apologies," grinned Weiss, the joy within her far too incorrigible to feel disheartened by Winter's demanding personality, "I have no quarrels with the plan."

Winter's hardened gaze softened once again, "Very well. I will speak with you again soon, Sister," she said softly, briefly placing a hand on Weiss' shoulder.

With that, Winter turned her attention back to the pilot and walked into her airship.

Weiss smiled widely, not moving an inch until she could no longer see her sister. She waited a few seconds more, making sure Winter would not come out of the ship to tell her a forgotten detail of her plan, and turned to Yang as they both made their way to the dorm room.

"Isn't she just _wonderful!"_ Weiss cheered jovially, as she double checked the location of the dorm room and sent it to Winter.

"Yeah, she's great," said Yang, brusquely.

Weiss furrowed her brows and examined the brawler's pernicious expression, "You don't like her?" she asked.

"Weiss, what the hell _was_ that back there," Yang asked as she turned to her girlfriend with hurt seeping through her features.

Weiss looked away, not brave enough to look Yang in the eyes, "I'm sorry, I just…" she trailed off.

"I thought we were done with this… This _hiding,"_ frowned Yang with a shake of her head, "You know how badly that hurts our relationship."

"I know… I just need—"

"A little more time?" interrupted Yang.

Weiss looked into Yang's eyes again, her mouth hanging slightly open at a loss for words.

"Weiss, how much time are you going to need? You're already fine with everyone else knowing about us, so what makes Winter any different?" Yang pushed.

"Winter is family, Yang. I'm _terrified_ she won't approve. I don't know what I would do if she didn't," Weiss whispered apprehensively.

Yang allowed her expression to relax as the scared little girl she had grown familiar with began to peak through the heiress, "If what you've told me about Winter is true, there is no way in hell she won't support us."

"But those were stories from _years_ ago," said Weiss, "She's bound to change at least a little."

Yang sighed and looked at Weiss dead in the eye, "Then so what if she doesn't approve?"

Weiss' eyes widened slightly, not expecting the sudden change in Yang's tone, "I beg your pardon?"

"Why does Winter's opinion matter so much to you? From what _you've_ told me, Winter hates what your father has become just as much as you do and won't contact him for any reason. She won't go tattle to your dad, so she can't do anything to separate us even if she wanted to," said Yang, folding her arms.

Weiss thought for a moment and rubbed her arm diffidently under Yang's penetrating gaze, "She's like a role model to me. She's a good person who protected me from Father's wrath. I don't like doing anything _she_ wouldn't like me to."

"I won't tell you that your love for your sister isn't strong. Take it from me, a big sister. I would literally give my life if it meant saving Ruby's," said Yang, "But did your sister _really_ protect you from your dad? _You_ told me she left you there _alone_ with him when you were just a kid."

"She knew I could handle him from then on," Weiss defended.

"That's not the way I see it," said Yang, "You even said it yourself at the dance: when you first arrived at Beacon, you were cold and broken. You were the most like your dad than ever before."

Weiss looked at Yang cautiously, "What are you implying?" she muttered.

Yang glared at Weiss with hard eyes as they stopped walking, "Your sister _abandoned_ you, Weiss."

Weiss took a step backward, more shocked than angry, "No she didn't! She's here now isn't she!?" she cried.

" _You_ told me you send a letter to Winter every week," said Yang, pointing her finger at Weiss' chest, "Tell me, how many letters have you received back?"

Weiss shook her head, "None, but that's only because she was so busy with her duties as a specialist in the Grand Atlesian Military!" she defended.

"All I hear is denial, Weiss," said Yang.

"It's not denial, it's the truth," sneered Weiss.

Yang sighed and folded her arms, "Do you realize how high of a pedestal you put Winter on all the time?"

"It's because I respect my older sister! Ruby does the same thing with you."

"Ruby doesn't keep, not one, but _two_ sketchbooks filled with drawings of her sister in them," frowned Yang.

"I drew those because I look up to her!"

"It's because you _idolize_ her," said Yang with a frown on her face, "But that isn't entirely your fault."

"I don't… I don't _idolize_ Winter," Weiss whispered as if trying to convince herself.

"When all you were shown as a child was scorn from your father and neglect from your mother, it's easy to glorify the only pillar of safety you have," said Yang as she gently wrapped her arms around Weiss, holding her softly, "There isn't a problem with that, it just makes you human. My dad was the same way when my mom left us," began Yang as tears began to well in her eyes, "He was really hurt… He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't good enough for her to love him as he did _her._ Then when Ruby's mom was there for him, he clung to her like she was his only will to live. It sent him into a bad depression when she died. I had to pick up the pieces of our family and quickly found out my dad had a lot of flaws, himself."

Weiss sniffed into the crook of Yang's neck as tears threatened to spill from her own eyes.

"What I'm trying to say is this:" sniffled Yang as she wiped her eyes and looked at Weiss, "It's okay to look up to someone, but you need to understand everyone has their flaws and shortcomings. Winter is no exception. She, like us, is a human being who makes mistakes at times. She isn't perfect and that's okay. Just because she's not perfect doesn't mean she isn't a wonderful person who is worth being your role model."

Weiss nodded and leaned up to kiss Yang, deeply, pouring all the affection she could muster into Yang's lips.

"I'll tell Winter about us when we talk tonight," murmured Weiss, softly.

"Thank you, Weiss," said Yang as she hugged Weiss a little tighter.

"I'm sorry…" sniffled Weiss as she buried her face in Yang's scarf.

"For what?" Yang asked softly.

"For being so selfish," murmured Weiss.

"What do you mean?"

"You have made so many sacrifices on my behalf. It's not fair, the amount of patience and energy you have put into this relationship," mumbled Weiss.

Yang nodded and stroked Weiss' hair, "I won't lie to you, it has been pretty tough," Yang began, "But I'd do it all again if it meant staying by your side."

"I know you would," said Weiss as she snuggled further into Yang's scarf, "And that's what makes me so sad."

Yang furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at the top of Weiss' head.

"You are willing to lose everything for me, and allow me to reap the benefits," said Weiss, glumly.

"Well, that's what being in a relationship is about," began Yang, "Making sacrifices so we can both be happy together."

"You're absolutely correct," said Weiss, shaking her head, "Which is why I'm disappointed in myself that I haven't made nearly as many as you have."

"It's about the quality of the sacrifice over the quantity," said Yang with a smile, "You've put your entire future at risk by going public as my girlfriend, and you know that."

"But that doesn't become a sacrifice until the repercussions of doing that hit me hard," said Weiss.

Yang chuckled at Weiss' insistence. She adored how stubborn she could be at times. It was rather cute.

"Then you'd better get going on those sacrifices, ya big slacker," Yang teased.

"How did you become so wise at such a young age, Yang?" asked Weiss.

"I had good role models," Yang smirked, "My dad, Summer, Uncle Qrow, and even Ruby to some extent."

Weiss hummed and nodded her head.

"Now, let's get back to the dorm and get you cleaned up. We don't want to let Winter know you've been crying, do we?" said Yang.

"Oh hush, you!" pouted Weiss as she lightly smacked Yang's arm.

She was not truly mad at Yang. How could she be?

Yang only wanted what was best for Weiss. There were few people on Remnant who share that desire and will do as much as she would to ensure it.

Weiss believed Yang was a one-of-a-kind person. She was a perfect counterpart to her as if she was put on Remnant by the gods to show her the way like some sort of guardian angel. Yang certainly _looked_ the part too.

However, Weiss was not completely certain if Yang's counsel was correct. At least not completely. The heiress could not help but feel a tad of resentment towards Winter now. She needed to know why Winter left and why she never contacted her until now, out of the blue. She was left guessing as she walked with Yang back to the dorm room.

Only time would tell, Weiss supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	29. Family Reunion

Weiss sat quietly on her bed as her finger anxiously tapped away on her leg. She and the dorm room's other occupants awaited the arrival of Winter Schnee.

"So, she just showed up? No heads up in advance or anything?" asked Blake, looking up from an assignment she was helping Ruby complete.

All heads turned to Weiss, but the girl stayed quiet as she stared at nothing in particular.

"Yeah, pretty much," answered Yang, instead, as she leisurely paced around the room, "I'm not even sure she _had_ a way of telling us she was coming, really."

"That's… _Weird,"_ said Ruby.

"It was definitely unexpected," agreed Blake as she turned back to her task at hand, "What is she like? Should I cover up?"

Yang examined Blake's ears that were currently out where anyone could see them, "She was… Nice? She's like Weiss but more… Stoic I guess? I don't know how she feels about faunus though," she said as she looked at Weiss for any input.

"I should just play it safe and put on the bow," sighed Blake as Weiss continued to be aloof.

"That would probably be a good idea," frowned Yang as she went to sit next to Weiss on the bed.

Weiss' mind was swirling with thoughts and questions. Why would Winter choose _now_ of all times to contact her? After nearly a decade of being gone from her life, did she even have a right to come back to her and act like everything was fine? _Is_ everything fine?

"Hey," said Yang as she softly nudged the heiress out of her stupor, "What are you thinkin' about?"

Weiss blinked at Yang, "What am I _not_ thinking about would be the better question to ask," she sighed.

Yang tilted her head as she placed her hand on Weiss' leg, "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Weiss placed her hand on top of Yang's and smiled at her, "No. I think I need to get through this myself."

"Okay," smiled Yang, "Just keep in mind that, at the end of the day, Winter is still your sister, and that bond is never broken, no matter how much you both go through."

Weiss nodded as she broke eye contact with Yang, "Thanks for saying that, Yang. I really needed to hear it."

Yang pressed a soft kiss to Weiss' cheek and stood up. She sat down at Weiss' desk and began working on some of her assignments as they waited.

As the minutes ticked by in the now silent dorm, Weiss began to feel better about her afternoon with Winter. Surely the specialist had an adequate reason for failing to contact her after leaving to join the military.

Weiss jumped at the crisp knock on the door, "I've got it," she called, softly as she stood and opened the door to reveal Winter. Her hair was still in its tight bun and covering the right side of her face, and she was still dressed in her specialist uniform.

"Hello again, Sister," said Winter with a small nod of her head.

"Hello, Winter. Please, come inside," said Weiss with an almost forced smile as she stood aside.

Winter confidently entered the room, allowing the door to shut behind her. The first thing she noticed was the haphazardly stacked beds.

"Crude… But effective, I suppose," mumbled Winter as she plucked at the rope that kept Ruby's bed suspended in the air, "I hope you don't sleep under this one."

Weiss shrugged and let out a guilty chuckle, causing Winter to raise an eyebrow.

"Anyway," said Weiss as she clasped her hands together and dashed in front of Winter, "Winter, I would like to introduce you to my teammates. You already met Yang Xiao Long. _This_ is Ruby Rose and _this_ is Blake Belladonna," she said as she gestured towards Ruby and Blake, respectively, just behind herself, "Together we form Team RWBY."

Winter hummed in amusement, "I'm certain that causes much confusion for you and your team, Miss Rose," she said without so much as a curl of her lip.

"You would be right," chirped Ruby with a nervous chuckle, "A-and you can just call me Ruby."

"Very well, Ruby," said the specialist as she offered her hand to Ruby and Blake, "I am Winter Schnee. I am pleased to meet you both."

"Likewise," smiled Blake as she shook Winter's hand after Ruby.

"I would love to stay and chat, but I wish to spend the afternoon reconnecting with my sister if you wouldn't mind," said Winter as she placed her hand on Weiss' back, "Perhaps another time?"

"Yeah! We totally understand," said Yang with a reassuring smile.

"Wonderful," said Winter as she looked at Weiss, expectantly.

"We'll be in the garden if you need me," sighed Weiss, "We should hurry, Winter. I have some tea being delivered there as we speak," she added as she turned back to Winter with the same nearly forced smile as earlier.

Winter gestured for Weiss to exit ahead of her and closed the door as she followed her out.

The room was quiet again.

"Is it just me… Or did you guys think Weiss would be a little more excited to see her sister again for the first time in, like, what, eight years? I mean, especially with how much she talks about her," said Ruby, effectively shattering the silence.

"No, I definitely noticed that too," said Blake, "Care to explain, Yang?"

Yang sighed and sat down on Weiss' bed, "I might have caused that."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ruby as she shared a glance with Blake.

"Weiss was _really_ excited when Winter arrived. Excessively so. She was practically bouncing where she stood," Yang explained, "It was like Weiss forgot all her problems and started acting like they were gone."

"So, what did you do to make her feel differently?"

"I was getting to that, Rubes," frowned Yang, "Weiss didn't tell Winter we were dating, and I got pretty annoyed with her. It's like Winter is the only person we haven't told besides her dad, and I thought that was kind of dumb considering complete strangers in Vale know at this point, you know? Anyway, I figured out Weiss didn't say anything about us to Winter because she wasn't sure if she approved. Weiss _really_ looks up to her; almost to an obsessive degree."

"So, she panicked and casually left out that crucial information when introducing you?" finished Blake.

"More or less," Yang sighed, "I told her that she shouldn't let Winter's judgment control what she does, and I think I might have accidentally pushed her too far. Judging by how she was acting right now, she might be having some trust issues with her."

"Oh," winced Ruby as she grimaced at Blake.

"Yeah, I know," groaned Yang as she flopped down onto her bed, "Hopefully I'm just being paranoid, and she's just nervous about talking to her again."

"She probably is. It's been eight years after all," said Blake.

Yang stared at the bottom of Ruby's bunk and sighed.

* * *

"I must say: Beacon does look quite stunning at this time of the year," said Winter as she raised her hand and ran it through the dark leaves of a tree they passed by.

Weiss hummed in agreement as they neared the garden.

Winter opened her mouth to scold Weiss for not using her words, but upon reading her sullen expression, she closed her mouth and faced forward again.

Before, Winter was unsure about Weiss' behavior, but now she knew her suspicions were correct. Weiss was upset about something, and she had no idea what it was. Although, she could make a few educated guesses.

As they approached the garden, Weiss walked ahead and held the gate open for her sister, "After you," she said.

"Thank you," said Winter with a nod of her head as she stepped into the garden.

The garden was autumn-colored and the stone structure had red, brown, and orange leaves scattered on the floor. Inside the structure was a piping hot teapot with enough teacups and saucers for two.

Weiss walked past Winter and stepped under the roof of the stone structure, "I thought we could sit here so the leaves won't fall on us," she said as she took a seat at the only table there.

Winter followed suit and sat across from Weiss, thanking her as she poured a cup of tea for her.

The two girls sat in silence at first, just sipping their tea and enjoying the scalding hot liquid as it sent waves of warmth through them in the cold autumn atmosphere. Despite Weiss' obvious lack of enthusiasm, the silence was welcome and almost comforting. But they did not come here to sit and do nothing together.

"So, Weiss," Winter began as she set her teacup down, "How have you been?"

Weiss looked up to meet Winter's eyes for the first time since they left the dorm, "I am well, for the most part. Stress is minimal, and I am very much enjoying my time here..."

There was no doubt she was enjoying her stay and studies at Beacon Academy, but the stress was still there, not because of the school, but because of the very situation she was in right now.

"That's good," Winter said, "It seems like you get along with your team well."

"I do. They're probably my favorite part about this place," said Weiss, smiling fondly.

Winter took another sip of her tea as she relaxed into her chair a little more, "Your team… Tell me about them," she said.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "What do you want to know?" she asked, "Ruby's always energetic and a great leader despite being two years younger than the rest of us, Blake is a cunning fighter who loves to read and write, and Yang is loyal to the end. Oh! _And_ she never gives up. Sometimes that can be quite irritating though," Weiss chuckled.

Winter hummed and let a small smirk grace her lips, "I know what it's like to deal with someone like that."

"Yeah," Weiss smiled as she looked at the falling leaves, "I actually couldn't stand her when we first met. It got pretty bad," she frowned, "Just recently, we had the Autumn Dance, here at Beacon, and Yang and I were chosen to design it from the ground up. We butted heads almost constantly at first and ended up physically fighting over who would get to plan the dance alone. Eventually, we made up, though, and now we're the best we ever have been."

Winter leaned forward in her chair, "Sounds like quite the feud. And what about this dance? Did you go with anyone?"

Weiss bit her cheek and reluctantly made eye contact with her sister, "Yes, I went with Yang," she said as she took a quick deep breath, "We are actually… Dating."

Weiss expected Winter to stand from her seat right there because of her overwhelming distaste for the situation, but to her surprise, Winter simply hummed.

"I had a suspicion there was something _more_ transpiring between the both of you," said Winter as she casually sipped her tea.

Weiss furrowed her brows and tilted her head, "How did you know?"

"It wasn't hard to tell Miss Xiao Long was upset when you introduced her as simply your teammate," said Winter, "It's my job to be able to pick up on these types of things after all."

Weiss looked out of the stone structure, thinking hard for a moment. She looked back at Winter cautiously, "You're taking this rather well…"

"Did you expect me to scold you for dating someone?" smirked Winter, nearly letting out a chuckle.

"N-no," stuttered Weiss, "It's just that… Yang's a girl too, obviously, and I wasn't sure if you would approve."

Winter rolled her eyes and scoffed, "I'm insulted, Sister. I can't imagine why you would expect such a reaction from me. I'm not _Father."_

The heiress threw her hands out in front of her, "Wait, I didn't mean to allude that…"

"Relax, Weiss," Winter smiled as Weiss lowered her arms, "I'm only teasing you."

"Right," Weiss whispered as she cupped her hands around her teacup, staring into the dark liquid.

Winter raised an eyebrow as she examined Weiss' conflicted expression, "So, I'm curious: How did Ruby gain entry to Beacon at such a young age? She must be exceptionally skilled."

Weiss looked up at her sister with newfound interest, "Believe me, she is. She stopped a dust raid in Vale all by herself. Professor Goodwitch caught her fighting off a dozen or so White Fang thugs. She was granted entry to Beacon because of her skill with a scythe."

Now both of Winter's eyebrows were raised, "A scythe? Interesting. I've only ever heard of two other people who used scythes in combat. Those overgrown gardening tools are even more dangerous to the wielder than their opponents without the proper training."

Weiss nodded in agreement, "Yes, but her skills were not the only thing that got her into Beacon. Professor Ozpin knew from the beginning that she was a natural leader. I would follow her into battle any day."

Winter hummed respectfully, "It seems I have underestimated her. I thought she was just a naïve child, but it would seem she is much more," she said, "What about your other teammate, Miss Belladonna? Is she more than she seems as well?"

"You could say that," Weiss smiled as she watched the leaves fall around them, picturing the cat faunus in her head, "She started dating Ruby a few weeks after Yang and I started. I feel like if anyone else dated Ruby, Yang would have killed them," she chuckled.

"Why?" asked Winter.

"Oh, you know how big sisters can be. You _are_ one, after all."

"Big sister? Are you implying Ruby and Yang are sisters?" asked Winter as she narrowed her eyes, "They look nothing alike."

"Yeah… Their family situation is… Complicated. They have the same father, but different mothers," Weiss explained.

"I see," said Winter as she sipped her tea.

Weiss watched her sister intently. Almost everything she had told Winter today was information she had already explained in detail in each of her letters. Granted, those letters were sent weeks ago. Winter probably just forgot.

"What about you? Have _you_ made any friends while you were away?" asked Weiss.

Winter looked almost surprised but did not miss a beat when answering, "Because I was trained as a specialist ever since I joined the military, I was never assigned to a team. The few friends I've made were from the places I was stationed."

"So… You would make friends with the locals and then just leave?" asked Weiss.

Winter frowned, "I had duties elsewhere. I was constantly moving from place to place."

Weiss matched Winter's frown and looked into her teacup that was now empty.

"Would you like some more tea, Weiss?" asked Winter as she lifted the teapot.

Weiss locked her eyes onto Winter. The specialist was waiting for Weiss to answer her, but she could not. It seemed like Winter did not have an issue with leaving friends and family behind, or at least she did not show any quarrels she harbored.

The heiress knew what she had been doing this whole time. She was going along with Winter's mundane topics of conversation so she could avoid asking the important questions. She believed that maybe she could forget about her doubts and go with the flow like Yang would do.

She was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Winter," sighed Weiss as she shook her head, "I can't do this anymore."

Winter set the teapot down on the table as she furrowed her brows, "Forgive me, but I don't understa—"

"Why did you leave? And more importantly, why didn't you contact me at all for the last _eight_ _years?"_ frowned Weiss.

Winter was taken aback by the sudden question. She sat up straight, looking at Weiss' downcast face, before pursing her lips and tearing her gaze away from her, "I thought you would give me a little more time before you would ask those questions," she chuckled, humorlessly, "You know why I had to leave, Weiss. General Ironwood offered me an opportunity to become a specialist in his military, and I accepted it."

"That's _not_ good enough!" shouted Weiss as she gripped the edge of the table. She stared at Winter briefly and took a deep breath, relaxing into her seat, "Why did you accept it? You weren't going to become a specialist originally. What changed your mind? And what in Remnant made you disappear from my life this whole time?"

"It's more complicated than you think," said Winter, shaking her head.

Weiss scoffed and rested her arms on the table, "Do you know how hard it was living with Father without you around? Every condescending, bitter, resentful remark he would make whenever I did anything he didn't think was right just built on me like I was being buried alive."

"You are strong. I knew you would be able to handle him," said Winter.

"You're wrong!" growled Weiss, "Every night, I would lie awake in bed and _think._ Think about what I could do to feel _something_ besides inconsolable _loneliness_ in that… That _prison!_ It only got worse with time! So much so, I would lie awake regardless of how cluttered my mind was! I had to take medication _every_ night just so I could sleep."

"Weiss, I—"

"I was locked away in my room for _weeks_ when I got this scar," Weiss continued as she poked a finger at her face, "Father wouldn't let me leave unless I took some makeup and covered it up as if it was never there! He would always tell me it was a mark of shame for the Schnee family, and that a true Schnee should always be perfect in every way to the public eye!"

"I had n—"

"I felt like I was _worthless_ when I first came here!" cried Weiss as she took a few deep breaths and realized she was now standing up. She sat down and rested her head in her hands, "I struggled _so_ much," she whimpered, "I would hide my scar every morning before going to classes, and I would feel even more useless. It made me bitter and gave me delusions that I should act like I was superior to everyone else. I would talk down on and disparage people who were only trying to be my friend. Loneliness became the only thing I was familiar with, so in a strange way, I found comfort in it. But I hated every second of it."

Winter frowned as she mulled over everything Weiss had told her. Their father had really done all this to Weiss? Was he really that ruthless and uncaring for his daughter? It's a miracle Weiss has held out here this long.

"I didn't know, Weiss…" murmured Winter.

"I would have stayed like that for my entire stay at Beacon if it weren't for my friends," Weiss continued, "They set me on the right path again. Especially Yang. It's because _Yang_ felt the need to care for me and _feel_ for me that _I_ no longer feel the need to hide my scar or push people away. She even helped me relax enough to stop needing medication to sleep."

Winter looked into her empty teacup, "It would seem I owe Miss Xiao Long a great deal of gratitude," she whispered.

"Yeah…" said Weiss bitterly, "She was _there_ for me. A complete stranger! Admittedly, after a rocky start, she was there for me, and my sister, my own flesh and blood, was none the wiser of my distress!"

"I know…" whispered Winter, not able to look into her sister's eyes.

"You didn't answer my question," said Weiss, dispassionately, "This time, do not _insult_ me by telling me something you're aware I already know."

Winter thought for a moment and looked into her younger sister's eyes, "Do you know why it seemed like Father's treatment of you suddenly grew worse after I left?" she asked.

Weiss scrunched up her nose in disgust, "It's because you weren't there to protect me anymore!"

"Precisely," stated Winter, "All those, 'condescending, bitter, resentful remarks' you mentioned? They were always there, but they never reached your ears because I always took them upon myself instead. Whenever Father was frustrated with you for being too tired for a concert or making an error during a music lesson, I didn't _let_ him scold you. I always stepped in the way and _always_ made myself subject to his wrath because I _never_ wanted you to become like him!"

Weiss flinched at Winter's loud voice, "What are you talking about?"

"It's all about the way he influences us, Weiss. He uses his words to plant something in you. Something you never want to see the light of day," sighed Winter as she looked at the ground, "The day the White Fang attacked our home… I've never felt more furious. How _dare_ they. The _audacity,"_ she scowled as she looked into Weiss' eyes again, "I killed _so_ many of them, trying to protect you. I would have died before I let a single one of them touch you. But while I was fighting them, I never saw them as the White Fang. Even as the last of them tore off their Grimm masks and showed me their remarkably humanoid faces, I only saw a cluster of animals waiting to be slaughtered. You had already been dazed by a flash grenade, so you didn't see it, but right there, standing in the middle of dozens of bodies, I was mortified. I ruthlessly _murdered_ a group of faunus that were trying to surrender, and it was because I _hated_ them. The message Father had been trying to indoctrinate us with was suddenly a part of me, and I would _not_ stand for that," Winter punctuated by slamming her fist on the table, "I was turning into Father, Weiss. I had to get away from him."

Weiss stared at Winter, her mouth ajar, "…Winter?"

"I see now that I was a coward for doing that… I left you and Whitley to the very fate I was trying to escape… Your anger towards me is understandable."

A pang of guilt washed over her body as she was reminded of the last thing Winter asked her to do before she left. Winter had asked her to protect Whitley from her father, but instead, she fled just like Winter did. Now Whitley was a near carbon copy of his father.

"Maybe…" Weiss frowned, "But I understand why you left now. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you."

"It's… Alright," whispered Winter as she looked down at the table.

"But, why didn't you ever contact me while you were away? Father would never know if you had just called Klein," offered Weiss.

Winter sighed, "At first, it was because I thought you no longer needed me. You seemed to be doing fine without me considering the lack of any calls or letters from you. But, later, as the years passed by, I was afraid you had… _C_ _hanged._ Fallen subject to Father's ideology. I could not bring myself to face that version of you… Like the coward I am."

Weiss looked confused, "Winter… I sent you a letter _every day_ for a month after you left. Even then, I still send you a letter every week."

Winter snapped her head to face Weiss, "You did?" she asked, "I never received any of them. Are you certain you have the correct address?"

"Yes, General Ironwood gave Father the address the day you left," said Weiss.

"Show me," ordered Winter as Weiss pulled out her scroll and showed Winter the address.

Winter's jaw clenched tightly as her eyes scanned the address over and over again. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as her jaw trembled. As soon as the anger flooded her, it left her as her features returned to their normal, stoic look.

"This address is incorrect, Weiss," stated Winter as she took Weiss' scroll and entered in the correct mailing address.

Weiss looked baffled, "That's impossible! It's the one General Ironwood gave Father!"

"A mistake on the General's part I presume," said Winter as her eye twitched ever so slightly.

Weiss shook her head, "Whatever. At least you're here now," she said with a small smile, "So, what made you change your mind and come visit me? Did you just want to see if I really _did_ turn out like Father?"

Winter flinched at the question and looked away with a pained expression on her face, "Not exactly. I came here to… To say I'm sorry for leaving you."

Weiss sighed and smiled, "Well, I accept your apology, and I forgive you."

Weiss expected Winter to at least smile at her, but instead, she frowned and looked down.

"Thank you, Sister. I really don't deserve your forgiveness," said Winter.

"You've got it anyway," smirked Weiss.

Winter looked up and smiled sadly at Weiss, "I am so glad you didn't turn out to be like Father."

"Again, you can thank Yang for that."

"I would like a chance to get to know Miss Xiao Long some more in the future," said Winter as she stood up, "But for now, I need to return to my quarters and rest. I am exhausted from the long flight from Atlas."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Weiss smiled widely as she threw her arms around Winter's torso and hugged her tightly, "Winter?"

Winter's mouth hung slightly open at the unexpected show of affection and she nearly failed to answer her sister, "Yes, Weiss?"

"Thank you for coming back," she hummed as she squeezed Winter tighter.

Winter nodded her head and hugged Weiss, patting her back.

Weiss backed away from Winter and clasped her hands in front of her with a smile, "I'm glad we talked about all this. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Winter forced a smile, "Certainly. Good night, Sister."

She watched as Weiss left the garden, shaking her head and clenching her eyes shut, "You shouldn't have forgiven me…" she whimpered as she pulled her scroll out of her pocket.

She tapped at it for a moment and put it to her ear, letting it ring for a moment before…

" _Good Morning, Winter. Or is it Evening in Vale at the moment?"_ asked a cold, hard voice.

"How many…?" asked Winter, her voice trembling.

" _I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, Dear,"_ said the man.

"Tell me how many letters Weiss sent me! I want the exact number!" Winter shouted.

The man was silent for a moment, _"… Four hundred thirteen."_

Winter nearly dropped the scroll as she gripped her torso with her free hand, "You gave her the wrong address! You _monster!_ What kind of Father would do this!"

Jacques Schnee was silent once again, _"Just do what I asked of you."_

Winter opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late. Her Father had hung up and would not answer her for a few hours.

She dropped her scroll on the ground, ignoring the crack that followed its slamming into the cold cement, and fell to her knees.

"She shouldn't have forgiven me…" Winter wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	30. Walk With Winter

Weiss softly hummed to herself as her pencil danced around a page of her notebook. Every line, dash, and dot were marked with a purpose and fitted together to form the most recent addition to her growing collection of sketches.

She finally had time to return to her favorite hobby now that the Autumn Dance had come and gone. But to Weiss, drawing had many more perks than simply being fun. She was using her drawing to occupy her hands while she thought.

The day prior was interesting, to say the least. Weiss had finally figured out why Winter never contacted her and even left in the first place. Yang could not even fathom how Weiss managed to have the wrong mailing address when she told her about the talk they had.

Some unlucky soul must have been either very confused or extremely terrified by the sheer quantity of letters Weiss sent to them. The letters would have been sent back otherwise. It was rather odd that they never responded telling her there was no one named Winter in their home.

Weiss made a mental note to send one more letter to that address to apologize and explain.

Weiss was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of her pencil breaking. She frowned at the lack of graphite at the tip and took a moment to admire her work so far. It was a sketch of Winter and herself in the garden from yesterday.

She smiled as she recalled why she was drawing in the first place. She was waiting for Winter to come by her room so they could spend more time together as was promised the day before.

Winter also wanted to get to know Yang more, but the blonde was nowhere to be found.

Yang, along with the rest of Weiss' team, were currently on a quick trip to Vale. Yang really wanted some ice cream for some reason.

Weiss would have gone with her on her arbitrary visit to the city, but she opted to stay at the dorm in case Winter arrived before they returned.

She sighed happily as she pulled out a new pencil and resumed her sketching. She was grateful she no longer felt any resentment towards Winter. It did not feel particularly good thinking her own sister did not care for her like her father apparently did not. Winter, along with everyone else on Remnant, simply made a few mistakes and had a few regrets just as Yang had told her.

The heiress could not help but smile as she looked over her nearly complete sketch. She was about to work on the final touches of herself in the drawing but opted to finish Winter first.

A crisp knock could be heard at the door, causing Weiss's smile to shift into a toothy grin. She hopped out of the seat at her desk and regained her composure before opening the door.

"Good morning, Winter!" smiled Weiss as she stepped aside to let Winter in.

"Good morning, Sister. Did you sleep well?" asked Winter as she turned to face Weiss.

"I did. What about you?"

"The beds here are softer than what I'm used to, but I can manage. Have you thought about what you would like to do today?" said Winter as she walked past Weiss while examining the dorm room.

"I actually have not," Weiss admitted, "I thought we could come up with something together? Something we would both enjoy. The last thing I want is for you to be bored while you're here," she chuckled.

"That is quite thoughtful of you," said Winter as she sent a smile towards her sister and returned to her perusing, "But it is also unnecessary. I am unopposed to doing anything you would like to do."

"O-oh! Okay," stuttered Weiss as she tried to quickly come up with something.

_Maybe we could take a trip to Vale?_ _Or I could take Winter on a tour around campus! Oh, wait, that wouldn't work. Winter already knows her way around Beacon…_

"Are these _your_ works, Weiss?" said Winter as she lifted the notebook Weiss was drawing in off her desk.

Weiss turned to her desk to find Winter flipping through her sketches, "Oh! Yes, those are just some stupid sketches I've done over the last few months. Nothing overly impressive, I know," she blushed.

"Weiss, these are _incredible,"_ said Winter.

"Wait, you're looking at them out of order," said Weiss as she plucked her first notebook off her desk and handed it to Winter.

Winter looked through the sketches in awe. The gradual change in detail and anatomy was perplexing.

"How on Remnant did you manage to get this good at drawing in just _months?"_ asked Winter, incredulously.

"Well, when you're locked in your room with nothing else to do, you tend to have plenty of time to become adept at drawing," chuckled Weiss.

Winter did not share Weiss' levity. Weiss' skill with a pencil and paper was yet another result of Winter leaving her alone with Father. She frowned for a moment but did not let Weiss see.

As Winter flipped through the pages, she noticed how many of the drawings depicted her or someone that barred a resemblance to her.

"Weiss?" asked Winter as she started looking at the second notebook.

"Yes, Winter?"

"Why are there so many drawings of me?" asked Winter, refusing to meet her sister's eyes.

Weiss frowned and looked at her toes, a light blush hinting at her cheeks, "I… Don't know. I suppose I just really missed you while you were away. I liked drawing you because I felt like it was the only thing I could do to remind me of the days when you were still at home?"

"Oh…" frowned Winter, "I see."

The room was quiet for a moment until Weiss' smile returned in full force, "But we already talked about all of that. Now we can focus on today instead of our regrets from the past."

Winter's somber expression remained as she let out a sigh and sat down on Weiss' bed, patting the spot beside her.

Weiss hastily took a seat beside Winter.

"Weiss, an unfortunate truth you must know is that I won't always be around to be with you. You can't rely on _me_ to remember the things that make you happy. To be frank, I don't deserve the admiration you have for me," said Winter.

"Of course you deserve my admiration. You're my big sister," reasoned Weiss.

"Right, but I'm not your pillar of strength. You are strong, Weiss. Especially because of everything you went through. You should look to yourself and see someone to admire. I'm willing to bet your friends feel that way, too."

Weiss nodded her head and let a small smile grace her lips, "Thank you, Winter."

Winter smiled back and rested her hand on Weiss' shoulder, squeezing lightly. She picked up Weiss' notebook and opened it again, determined to look through all her sister's art. She stopped at a page, tilting her head in confusion.

"What's this one? She has no face," said Winter as she showed Weiss her drawing.

It was the sketch of the lone dancer from when the beginning of the year.

"Wow, I completely forgot about that one. I started it just after I came to Beacon. I guess I never figured out what face to put on her," said Weiss.

Winter hummed and resumed turning the pages, "I'm sure you'll think of someone," she said as she stopped at a different drawing, "Oh! I like this one. It's remarkably detailed. Almost as if it were a picture taken by scroll."

Weiss looked over Winter's shoulder to find the drawing she did of Yang, "That's because it's a portrait. It's one of my favorites. Yang and I were at a café in Vale, way before we started dating, and she asked me to draw her right then and there. I was shy at first, but Yang really knows how to get through to me," she chuckled.

"That sounds fun," Winter smiled, "I'm sure Yang adores this sketch as much as you do."

"I doubt it. I tried to give it to her, but she wouldn't take it. She wanted me to have it," Weiss giggled, "She always puts my needs above her own, for better or worse. It's one of the many things I like about her, though. Whenever I'm with her, I just feel safe and like I belong. She got closer to me than anyone else has, and I don't even know how she managed to do it. After we settled our differences, it felt like we had known each other forever, and what Yang did for me will bring me joy for a lifetime and then some. She showed me kindness, care, and compassion. She taught me the value of friendship, showed me it's okay to be flawed. Thanks to her, I was able to make friends that would do anything for me, and I would do anything for them. They've _already_ done so much for me… I just wish I could pay them back..."

"So, do it," said Winter, "Show your friends exactly how much you appreciate them. Tell them everything you just told me. Do something that would make them feel as they have made you feel."

"Like what? Should I get a gift for each of them?" asked Weiss.

"If you believe that will properly convey your message, then yes," said Winter, "You could also consider doing something a bit more personal. Anyone can go to the store and buy someone else a gift."

Weiss bit her cheek as she looked away from Winter. What could she do to make her friends understand just how thankful she was for them?

Winter watched Weiss think for a few seconds before the door swung open and Yang walked in with an open bag of potato chips in her hand. Her gaze immediately found the brawler's.

"Oh, you're here!" said Yang as she clumsily hid the bag behind her back, "Sorry, I thought I would be back before you got here. I hope I didn't keep you two waiting long."

Winter stood up and addressed Yang, "Hello, Miss Xiao Long. You need not worry about a thing. Weiss and I were just talking about a few things."

Yang peeked around Winter to find Weiss staring blankly out the window, clearly in thought, "Okay… So, what should we do first? Did you and Weiss think of anything?" she said as she placed the noisy bag on Weiss' desk.

Winter briefly looked over her shoulder at Weiss, "Actually, Weiss has something she needs to attend to at the moment. How about the two of us go on a short walk while she finishes up? I would like an opportunity to get to know you better."

"Uh… Y-yeah, that sounds… Nice," stuttered Yang as she held the door open, "After you," she smiled sheepishly.

Winter nodded in thanks as she walked past Yang and into the hallway.

Yang glanced at the thinking heiress one last time and exited the room.

Weiss jumped slightly as the door slammed shut. She examined the door, but her mind was still occupied by what Winter said. She stood up and sat down at her desk, pulling a potato chip out of the bag that was next to her notebook and popping it into her mouth as she picked up her pencil.

Turning the page, Weiss was met with a new sheet where she could start something new and wonderful that would become something more with time and effort. Now she just needed to know what that something would be...

* * *

Yang itched her arm as she walked beside Winter. They were currently walking around the campus with the sun at its peak in the sky. The air was unusually warm for a day this late in Fall, perhaps the last of its kind until next year.

Yang snuck a glance at Winter when she was certain she was not looking. She had no clue why she was this stressed out.

Winter was just Weiss' older sister. What could the specialist possibly want to do to her? She _did_ say she wanted to get to know her better.

Yang glanced at Winter again, this time slightly longer. 

_Gosh, this is so weird..._

Winter looked very similar to Weiss, only she was tall; even taller than Yang. She always seemed to carry herself with grace and dignity. It was also quite intimidating that she always had that sabre on her hip.

"So," began Winter, shaking Yang out of her thoughts, "I understand that you and my sister are in a relationship."

_Man, I really wish Weiss was here!_

A pit formed in her stomach. She knew exactly where this was going. Winter was either going to insult her or give her the 'big sister talk.'

Yang had only ever given that talk a handful of times when Ruby was trying to find a boyfriend in the past, but she had no idea what it was like to be on the receiving end of it. She internally crossed her fingers.

Yang smiled diffidently, "Uh… Yeah. We started dating a couple of months ago," she managed.

Winter turned to Yang, who tried her best to avoid eye contact, "Relax, Miss Xiao Long. I don't bite, I assure you," she chuckled.

Yang looked up and shot Winter another, albeit more comfortable, sheepish smile as she placed a hand on the back of her own head, "Well, in that case, you can call me Yang," she said.

"As you wish, Yang," said Winter as she turned back to the pavement they were following.

"So… You're okay with me dating Weiss?" asked Yang, carefully.

"Okay with it?" asked Winter with a light laugh, "I'm _more_ than okay with it. I'm _glad_ you two are dating."

Yang's posture straightened in an instant, "Wait, what? Really? You're not going to tell me I'm a bad match for her or that she deserves someone better or that I can't date her because of, you know, the fact that I'm also a girl," she blabbered.

"Don't be ridiculous, I couldn't care less that my sister is dating another girl unless that girl was just _vile,_ " Winter huffed, "Besides, Weiss is a smart, young woman. She would not settle for anyone who she knew would cause her more harm than good."

Yang let out a sigh as she visibly relaxed, "That's a relief," she said, "I'm glad Weiss has such an understanding sister."

Winter briefly smirked at Yang's flattery, "She talks about you quite a bit. I've heard so many wonderful things about you. I feel it would be impossible to dislike you, even if I wanted to."

Yang blushed as she began to play with her large, blonde mane, "That's really sweet of her," she giggled, "What did she tell you?"

"Oh, quite a vast multitude of things," Winter sighed, "She told me you both had a bit of a problematic start but eventually grew close. She told me you always put her needs above your own. But most importantly, she told me you were there for her when I clearly was not. From what she told me, _you_ are responsible for pulling her away from my father's merciless outlook on life. I owe _you_ a great deal of gratitude for that, Yang."

Yang looked up at Winter's stoic expression and icy blue eyes that never wavered from the direction they were walking, "I can't take all that credit," she said, "Like you said, Weiss is smart, but she's also strong. It was _her_ effort that pulled her out of your dad's influence."

Winter hummed respectively, "You are _humble_ too. I respect that," she said as she locked eyes with Yang, "However, I thank you, anyway, for giving my sister someone to confide in... For being there so she was never alone."

A smile slowly formed on Yang's face as she twiddled her thumbs in front of herself, "You're welcome," she blushed.

Winter smiled brightly as she faced forward, again, "Now then. I think it's about time we return to your dorm to retrieve Weiss. She should be finished with her errand now," she said as she gracefully started for the dorm room.

"Wait, so you _aren't_ going to give me the big sister talk?" asked Yang as she stumbled to catch up to Winter.

Winter raised her eyebrow and turned to Yang, "I hardly find that necessary. I cannot think of any reason to believe you would harm Weiss in any way."

"Well, yeah, but…" Yang trailed off.

Winter sighed and stopped walking, "Very well, if you insist I do this:" said Winter as she rolled her eyes, "If you ever break my sister's heart, I will not hesitate to remove yours from your chest," glared Winter as she briefly flashed her sabre and continued walking, leaving Yang standing there, pale-faced.

"…W-what?" stuttered Yang as he watched Winter walk away, "You're kidding around, right?"

Winter looked over her shoulder and chuckled at the look on Yang's face.

" _Right?"_ Yang pleaded as she went to follow Winter. 

* * *

Yang smiled as she followed Winter into the dorm building. She was pleasantly surprised that she enjoyed her short walk with Winter. She could now see why Weiss looked up to her so much.

"Hey, I didn't tell you this earlier, but Weiss talks about you a lot too," said Yang as they walked through the vacant halls, "She really looks up to you, you know."

Yang expected Winter to smile or show some kind of joyful expression on her face. Instead, she only caught a glimpse of a pained frown as the specialist looked away.

"I am aware of the way my sister feels about me," said Winter, brusquely.

Yang could feel the air cool as the tone of their outing suddenly took a turn. Winter was obviously upset about something if her mannerisms were at all comparable to Weiss'. Maybe Yang's tactics to get Weiss to open up would also work on Winter?

"Is something wrong? You don't seem very happy about that," frowned Yang.

Winter straightened up, instantly, as all emotion fled from her features, "Everything is the way it needs to be. I am completely fine, I assure you."

_Yup. Just like Weiss._

Yang internally smirked.

"Are you sure? I know you would feel better if you told me what's wrong," began Yang.

"I _said_ I am fine," bit Winter, harshly.

Yang flinched slightly and faced forward. 

_Ouch, maybe I shouldn't prod too much. I just met her after all..._

As they reached the staircase, Winter sighed, "I apologize. I know you're just trying to help," she began as they began to climb the stairs, "But I already know why Weiss likes you so much. You don't have to show me," she chuckled.

"It's alright. I'm used to getting scolded by Weiss," Yang chuckled, "I know she likes having me around though."

"I'm certain she does," Winter smirked as they reached the dorm room.

Yang pulled out her scroll and unlocked the door, pushing it open as she entered with Winter just behind her. She smiled at the sight of Weiss, who seemed to be pacing, "Hey, Weiss! We're ba—"

"Yang!" shouted Weiss as she snapped her attention to the blonde, "Get out!"

Yang raised an eyebrow and glanced at Winter, "Uh… What?"

Weiss hastily stomped up to Yang and spun her around, pushing her out the still open door, "I said get out."

Yang turned around and did not even have the chance to ask why as the door slammed shut in front of her.

Now Winter raised her eyebrow at Weiss, "Yang must have done something quite heinous if you don't even want to be in the same room as her," she chuckled.

"What? No, I'm not mad at her. I just needed her out of the room," said Weiss as she sped to her desk, slapping away an empty bag of potato chips and shuffling through her notebooks.

"Why is that, exactly?" asked Winter, looking over Weiss' shoulder.

"Because I figured out what I want to do for my friends," said Weiss as she handed Winter a few notes and sketches, "Here. Look at this."

Winter looked at Weiss, skeptically, as she took the pages and flipped through them. There were a few pages worth of sketches, scribbled out ideas, and charts. It was apparent that Weiss put much effort and thought into her designs. There was one sketch, however, that stood out from the rest and not just because it was circled and had stars around it.

The other sketches were different types of sculptures and statues, but this one was different. This sketch depicted a large wall, a bulletin board of sorts. The familiar scenery of the garden was in the small background. There were hundreds of pages of some sort pinned onto it.

"What is it?" asked Winter.

"It's my idea. While I was thinking about what I could do, I kept planning on creating some sort of gift that had no real meaning for everyone. I kept missing the point of what I was doing this for. I scrapped everything and then I was left with a bunch of meaningless sketches," said Weiss as she shuffled around several pages on her desk, "But then I looked at all of them and realized that the reason I hold my friends so dear is because they have done so much for me."

"Right, you have already said that," reminded Winter.

"I know, and _that_ is what I want to thank them for! First, I will show them how much they affected my life," said Weiss as she pointed at the bulletin board collage on the page in Winter's hand, _"Then_ I will thank them."

Winter examined the board, "So, these pages on the wall… What are you going to put on them?" she asked.

"I was planning on writing down every great thing, no matter how big or small, they have done for me, but I don't want them to have to read everything. This is why I need your help with this," said Weiss.

Winter raised her brow at her younger sister whose eyes were sparkling like that of the child she once was all those years ago. She hummed in thought while looking at the board, the other sketches on the page, and the rest of her sketches in the notebook.

"Perhaps instead of _writing_ the great things they have done," said Winter as she held out the sketch of Yang from the café, "You could _draw_ them and pin them onto the wall. That way, your friends need only look at each sketch in awe and truly witness the impact they have made on you."

Weiss sighed and looked at the ground, "I was afraid you would say that," she mumbled, "I didn't want to do that in case I messed something up and upset someone."

"Weiss, now is not the time to be modest," Winter chuckled, "Let your talents convey your feelings. _They_ are what will help you the most."

Weiss frowned with a huff as she mulled over Winter's advice. After a quick second, she stamped her foot on the ground, "You know what? You're right. I'm going to do this!" she said, triumphantly.

"That's my sister," Winter smirked, "It will undoubtedly be tough to fill up that entire wall."

"I know, which is, again, why I need your help with this," said Weiss.

"Unfortunately, I do not possess the same skills with a pencil as you do, Sister," said Winter as she raised her brow.

"I know that," said Weiss, "I need your help organizing everything and pinning things to the board when I'm ready to show everyone. And a little emotional support would go a long way."

"I see," said Winter with a smile, "I suppose a project between us sisters would be fun… I'm in."

Weiss smiled brightly and hugged Winter briefly, "Okay! Let's get started!" she cheered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	31. Summons

Loyalty. Trust. Kindness. Friendship.

These were the four values that Weiss wanted to portray in her project. Every moment—significant or mundane—would fit somewhere in her collage.

Loyalty, because Weiss felt she could always count on her friends whenever she felt less than stellar.

Trust, because Weiss trusted her friends with her life.

Kindness, because a modicum of kindness from her friends went a long way to heal Weiss' damaged outlook on life.

Friendship, because Weiss did not even want to think about where she would be without her friends.

As her pencil moved across the page of what must have been her tenth drawing, she thought of those four values and how much they meant to her. She felt extremely fortunate that she had grown fond of these values and that her friends had helped her do that.

That is why she was doing this, after all. To show her appreciation for her friends.

But how could she properly show her appreciation for her friends if she could not get Nora's nose right!

"Did I forget how to draw in the last five minutes!" growled Weiss as she erased Nora's face and started again.

Winter looked at Weiss from her seat at Blake's desk with a raised eyebrow. She stood up and looked over Weiss' shoulder to find a drawing of a short, faceless, energetic, young woman, along with a reserved, young man, both wearing cooking garments with Weiss, herself, sitting at a table with them; an absurd stack of pancakes in front of her.

"That's quite the platter of pancakes," chuckled Winter.

"I told them I was _really_ craving something sweet that day, so Nora got Ren to make them for me," Weiss sighed, "She's crazy, but one of my closest friends none the less," she laughed as she drew in Nora's face again, satisfied with her work this time, "Perfect. You can add this one to the pile," she said as she handed the drawing to Winter.

Winter took the page from Weiss, looking over and nodding at the sketch, and placed it onto the stack of papers she had not yet organized.

Weiss had given her the task of organizing each sketch so that no two works that depicted the same person were adjacent to each other.

Winter also helped Weiss by giving her the occasional pick-me-up in the form of light conversation, a quick cup of coffee from the café downstairs, or by being a 'bouncer' and stopping any of Weiss' friends from entering the dorm room before they have had a chance to cover up their little project.

"I can't even recall the last time I had pancakes," Winter scoffed.

"Don't let Nora hear you say that," Weiss smirked as she placed another clean, white sheet of paper in front of herself, "You'll have pancakes up to your neck by the end of the day."

"Noted," Winter chuckled as she rolled her eyes and sat down at Blake's desk again.

This was the second day the sisters had worked on this project. So far, from the night before and this afternoon, they had a total of twenty-six sketches. That gave them an average of thirteen drawings per day.

Weiss was determined to increase that average. This proved to be a difficult task, however.

Last night, Blake and Ruby returned from Vale without warning and nearly saw their secret project. Weiss had to be careful about what time she and Winter worked on it. She knew her two teammates always went to the library for about two hours after their classes for the day. She intended to make use of that time window.

The dorm room returned to silence as her pencil continued to dart away at the page. This one was going to depict Jaune attempting to help Pyrrha while Nora dragged the poor amazon away. She remembered that happening when she first showed Team JNPR her scar.

She wondered if Nora managed to get Pyrrha to show her any battle scars she may or may not have. Weiss scoffed at the idea of Pyrrha getting hit by any attack let alone one that would leave a scar on her.

Weiss sighed and checked the time. They had a little over fifteen minutes before Blake and Ruby would leave the library. She had more than enough time to finish this sketch. She looked at Winter who was quietly writing things down while sifting through the completed drawings.

"Winter? What is it like being a specialist in the Atlesian military?" asked Weiss, trying to start a conversation as she continued working.

Winter glanced at Weiss and thought for a moment, "Well, every day, I wake up early in the morning, well before the sun is in the sky, and attend to my duties for the day. Sometimes it's surveillance. Sometimes it's for a field operation. But it's _always_ something important."

"That doesn't sound much different from what we do here," Weiss shrugged.

"Obviously, there's more to my job than that. I'm afraid much of it is classified," sighed Winter, "Talking about my work is like tiptoeing through a minefield, which _is_ something I have done in the past."

Weiss nodded, "Okay, so what _can_ you talk about?"

"Honestly… Not much. I apologize," said Winter as she cleared her throat.

"You don't have to be sorry. I understand completely," smiled Weiss, "What about the things you do in your free time? What do you do for fun?"

"For fun?" asked Winter.

"Yeah," giggled Weiss, "For me, whenever I don't have an assignment to complete or just have some extra time on my hands, I like to draw or read or do anything with Yang."

Winter bit her cheek and hummed in thought, "There is just so little time for anything like that at headquarters. I'm not like the other troops in that I don't live so closely amongst my fellow specialists. There's always work to be done. Any time I have to myself is usually spent sleeping. No time to develop any hobbies."

"That's terrible," frowned Weiss.

"You get used to it," shrugged Winter, "I do, however, have quite a bit of time on my hands whenever I'm stationed somewhere. There's one mission that comes to mind."

Weiss looked up at Winter as she finished up her drawing, "Tell me about it," she said.

"I'll tell you the parts that aren't classified," Winter smirked, causing Weiss to giggle, "I was stationed in Argus. There were reports of White Fang activity in the area and the rumors only made everyone anxious. You know what that brings."

"The Grimm," Weiss said, tilting her head.

"That's right," said Winter, "I was to investigate the area outside of the city in search of anything that would authorize more reinforcements in Argus. Abnormal Grimm concentrations, Fang operatives, you name it. After weeks of surveying the area, I concluded that the rumors were, indeed, rumors. Of course, the locals did not believe me, so I was left with a lot of free time while a hired, professional Huntsman checked everything I had already analyzed."

"That's dumb. How could they just not believe you?" asked Weiss.

"They were afraid, Weiss. I hardly expected them to believe me," rebuffed Winter, "The Huntsman they hired was an interesting character, to say the least. I hated him at first, but he grew on me. I worked with him because, frankly, I had nothing better to do."

"What was he like?" asked Weiss.

"He was… Well, now that I think of it, a lot like Yang," nodded Winter as she turned to Weiss.

"Drop-dead gorgeous?" smirked Weiss.

"I would describe him more along the lines of scandalously quixotic," winked Winter, as Weiss laughed, "No, he's very persistent: almost stubborn. He's also quite the fighter."

"I'd expect as much from a professional Huntsman," giggled Weiss.

"Right. Anyway, we ended up spending a lot of our free time with the locals. He would play soccer with the children, and I would watch him make a fool of himself. It was quite entertaining, actually," smiled Winter.

"It's good to hear that you have some fun experiences," smiled Weiss.

Winter nodded with a hum as she looked back down to her desk. It was still so strange for her to look Weiss in the eye and see the young woman she is now. Before this week, every time she thought of Weiss, she pictured the scared little girl she left with their father. She was proud to see how much she had grown. Weiss truly did deserve the best.

The two girls were quiet again as they cleaned up their work. They knew time was running short.

Just as the last stack of pages was stowed away, Winter chuckled.

Weiss looked up at Winter and raised her eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

Winter smiled and looked over Weiss, "Do you remember how I used to teach you how to use our semblance?"

"How could I forget. That was my favorite thing to do back then," chuckled Weiss.

"I remember you doubting yourself quite a bit," smirked Winter, "I wonder if that part of you has changed too. How about we go outside, and I teach you something for old times' sake?"

Weiss scoffed and waved her hand in front of her, "I've had years to perfect my semblance. I already know everything."

"Is that so?" laughed Winter, "Well then, I don't suppose you could summon a beowolf for me."

Weiss opened her mouth to say something but then closed it.

"Come, Sister," said Winter as she walked towards the door, "I think it's about time for you to learn summoning."

Weiss smiled as Winter opened the door and motioned for her to leave ahead of her, "I'd like that," she said.

As soon as the sisters were in the hallway, they turned to find Yang walking towards them.

"Hiya, Schneesters!" greeted the blonde with a wave of her hand, "Going somewhere? Does it have to do with your super-secret plan?" she whispered, "How about you tell me about it and I'll help you? Pretty please?"

Of course, last night, Yang demanded an answer as to why she was so rudely kicked out of the dorm room, so Weiss had to tell her she was working on a project for her and the rest of their friends. Ever since then, Yang had been pestering her non-stop about letting her in on it.

"For the last time, no! This project is meant for you too, Yang," sighed Weiss.

"Aw, come on, Babe! I miss spending time with you," pouted Yang as she brushed her hand down Weiss' arm.

Weiss slapped Yang's hand away, knowing all too well how powerful it was in messing with her head, "Up pup pup! I don't want to hear it."

Yang pouted again as she walked past Weiss to the door.

"Winter and I are going to the training grounds if you want to come?" asked Weiss, "She's going to show me how to summon."

Yang turned around and smiled, "I don't know what that is, but I'm in."

"Don't know what _what_ is?" asked a voice from behind Weiss.

Weiss turned again and found herself looking up at Blake, "Oh, Blake! Right on schedule."

"Uh… What?"

"Never mind that. Where's Ruby?" asked Weiss.

"She went with Jaune to see some action movie in Vale," said Blake.

"Oh. Well, we're all heading down to the training grounds. Would you like to come with us?" offered Weiss.

Blake pursed her lips and looked down at the book she was holding, "Sure. Why not?"

* * *

Weiss smiled at Yang as she watched her sit down in the bleachers next to Blake who was silently reading.

"How did we start these lessons again?" asked Winter.

Weiss thought for a moment, digging deep into her memories, "You used to start by showing me what the glyph looks like," she said.

"Ah, right," said Winter as she held out her hand.

Immediately, a glowing, white glyph formed in her palm and grew in size. A second later, a small, white Nevermore formed and tilted its head at Weiss.

" _This_ , as you know, is a summon. You can create a summon of anything that you eliminate whether it be on the field of battle…" explained Winter as she held out her other hand and formed a new summon, this time a small, white spider, "Or in the comfort of your home."

Weiss' eyes went wide as she marveled at the two creatures Winter had just formed into existence. It had been far too long since the last time she saw Winter's summons.

"Woah," said Yang in astonishment, "Blake, look! Winter just _made_ a bird."

"Bird?" said Blake, excitedly as her head snapped to where Yang was pointing.

Weiss shook her head fondly at her friends as the two summons Winter created slowly disintegrated.

"Okay, now it's your turn," said Winter as she stepped back and folded her arms behind her back, "Hold out your hand."

Weiss did as was instructed and looked up to Winter expectedly.

"I want you to concentrate. Think about everything you have ever overcome. Every challenge that you have crushed. Every triumph you have earned. Then I want you to pick one," said Winter as she began to circle around Weiss, "Focus. Don't let anything else distract you. Concentrate your aura in the palm of your hand and _will_ your defeated foe into existence."

Weiss looked at her palm, waiting for something to happen. A glyph began to spark to life, something different from the rest of her glyphs. This one felt… Warm… Alive, almost. It was strange...

She pushed the new sensation out of her mind and focused on the knight that had plagued her mind ever since it scarred her. She was no longer afraid of it. Now, _it_ belonged to her.

Weiss grunted as her hand began to twitch and ache, the glyph flickered but remained strong in her hand.

"You can do it, Babe!" shouted Yang from the bleachers.

Weiss grimaced as her attention was suddenly divided, but she did not let her glyph falter. She believed she could do it too.

Soon, a small, armored fist rose from the glyph and slammed down onto the glyph, shattering it in her hand and sending evanescent shards in every direction.

"Weiss! Are you alright?" said Winter as she walked around to face Weiss, concern evident in her features.

"Yeah," said Weiss as she held out her bleeding hand that had been cut by the shards, "Thank Oum for auras," she chuckled as the wounds slowly healed.

"Weiss! What happened?" asked Yang who had rushed down as soon as she saw the glyph go ballistic.

"I'm not entirely sure," winced Weiss as she flexed her fingers.

"Here," said Yang as she untied the purple handkerchief around her knee and handed it to Weiss.

"Yang, I don't want to ruin this," said Weiss as she tried to hand it back.

"It's okay. I'll just wash it later," said Yang as she took the cloth and wiped away the blood on Weiss' hand.

Winter smiled and nodded at Yang as Weiss blushed.

"That certainly was odd. I am impressed you were able to form that much on your first attempt, Sister," smiled Winter.

"Honestly, so am I," said Weiss as Yang went back to sit next to Blake.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you could summon the entire knight by the end of the week," chuckled Winter, "But you would have to practice. You _will_ practice, won't you?"

"Of course," said Weiss as she examined her healed hand, "I'll just have to remember to bring a tissue box."

Winter chuckled and took a step back, "And do not forget: you can summon _anything_ you have killed," said Winter as she took her sabre and touched its tip to the ground in front of her.

The glyph formed in seconds, spawning a white beowolf, its impressive height towering over them.

"And, soon, you will be able to do it on the fly," added Winter.

Weiss looked up at the beowolf, wondering if the sight of a summon would ever grow old to her. It was so strange seeing a usually dangerous abomination standing there so idly.

"Oh my gods!" shouted Yang as she extended Ember Celica and firing a shot straight at the beowolf's head.

Weiss and Winter shielded their eyes as the round completely obliterated the summon's head, leaving its body fading away before it could even hit the ground.

Weiss frowned and sent a glare at Yang.

"Sorry… Force of habit," shrugged Yang as Blake giggled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	32. Curiosity Killed the Cat

Weiss loved to train with Winter. It was the perfect way for the two sisters to reconnect after several years apart. Training and practicing her semblance was one of the only activities she enjoyed doing back at home. It was something she really missed when Winter left.

Now that Weiss was older, Winter treated her less like a young, childish student and more like a mature, young pupil. There was a lot less 'hand-holding' which only served to empower Weiss when she was able to get the hang of summoning.

The sisters would practice summoning whenever they needed a break from the project or simply had some time to themselves. And Yang was always happy to watch.

In just the last four days, Weiss was able to summon small creatures such as a Nevermore or a Deathstalker. She was overjoyed about her progress in summoning.

The collage was coming together nicely as well. Although, Weiss was still not satisfied with the pace she was making. With the weather getting increasingly colder over the course of this fall season, she was getting worried the project would not be completed by the first snowfall of winter.

It also did not help that she was out of paper and none of her pencils had erasers anymore. The stress was beginning to creep up on her again.

With Winter occupying almost all her time for the past week, Weiss had not been able to spend as much time as she would like alone with Yang. She yearned for her touch and would find herself thinking about that night of the Autumn dance almost constantly.

Weiss groaned as she rubbed a hand over her face. The mirror in the bathroom was fogged up from the shower she just finished, so she had to wipe the condensation away with her hand. She carefully unwrapped the towel that was encasing her hair and tossed it into the laundry bin.

As Weiss got dressed, her mind lingered on the little, light blue gift Yang gave her that currently resided in the drawer next to her bed. She could get this feeling over with and focus on the project.

But she could not do that right now. She was expecting Winter to arrive in a few moments so they could go to Vale and purchase more supplies since it was the weekend and there were no classes today.

Weiss walked out of the bathroom and realized the rest of her team was already gone. She glanced at the time and sighed, "I am waking up later every day," she whispered to herself.

She glanced at Yang's bed, frowning at the lack of her beautiful, blonde brute of a girlfriend snoring quietly. Yang did not even tell Weiss where they had gone. The poor thing probably felt neglected and decided to go wherever Ruby and Blake wandered off to.

_Maybe I should let Yang in on the project… I feel terrible that I haven't been spending as much time with her..._ _No… The payoff when she sees it will be worth it. I can't wait to see the look on her face!_

Weiss giggled at the thought of Yang's speechless face, sounding like a lunatic all alone in the dorm room, when she heard a knock on the door.

She snatched a hairbrush from her desk as she strode to the door and opened it, "Hello again, Winter," she greeted as she stepped aside and let Winter in.

"Good afternoon, Sister," smiled Winter as she looked around the room, "Where is your team?"

"I'm not entirely sure," shrugged Weiss as she ran the brush through her hair.

Winter hummed as she sat down on Weiss' bed, "Here, let me," she said as she gestured for Weiss to sit down.

Weiss smiled as she handed Winter the brush and sat down next to her, turning towards the door. Gently, Winter began to untangle the knots in Weiss' hair.

"I feel like a kid again," Weiss chuckled.

"I can stop if you would like," hummed Winter.

"No… I kind of like it," said Weiss, her cheeks a light shade of pink as Winter laughed behind her.

After a moment longer, Winter finished up and looked around, "Where is your tiara?" she asked.

"Uh… In the drawer behind you," Weiss sputtered.

Winter bunched up Weiss' hair in one hand and reached for the drawer next to Weiss' bed.

As soon as Weiss saw Winter's hand grasp the handle of the drawer, realization dawned on her that her tiara was not the only _object_ in there. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

"Wait!" Weiss cried as she spun around, trying to stop the drawer from opening.

But it was too late. Winter's eyes shot open when her gaze fell upon a light blue object. Without wasting a second of time, she slammed the drawer shut as a light blush and an uncomfortable look formed on her face.

The light pink on Weiss's cheeks exploded into a deep red that spanned her whole face. She could not bear to let her sister see her face right now. She cupped her hands around her eyes and looked away.

"Oh my gods! I can't _believe_ you just saw that!" Weiss cried.

"Weiss, it's alright," said Winter, hastily, as she rested her hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"My life is over! This is so embarrassing!" Weiss continued trying her best to keep her face out of Winter's sight, "I'm going to go run through the Emerald Forest until a pack of Grimm finds me!"

"Weiss! You don't have to be embarrassed," said Winter as she tried to get Weiss to look at her to no avail, "It's entirely natural for girls to feel certain… _Urges._ Especially at your age. It's perfectly fine that you have a means to… U-um… Take care of business."

Weiss kept her face hidden firmly behind her hands as she let out a pained groan, "Maybe so, but no one is supposed to know about it! I'm just going to find some nice, deep hole to live in where no one will ever find me!" she whined.

Winter sighed and grabbed Weiss' hands, pulling them off her face and trapping them under her own hands, "Look. If it makes you feel any better, _I_ have one _just_ like it. I even brought it with me to Beacon in one of my bags," she admitted.

Weiss looked up at Winter with a confused expression that quickly turned sour, _"Gross!_ How is that supposed to make me feel _better!?"_

Winter's blush deepened in color as she stuttered to find the correct words, "I-I just thought that, maybe, if you knew I did _it_ too, then you wouldn't feel as embarrassed."

"What!? No! That is _not_ how that works! I don't want to think about you doing _that._ You're my _sister!"_ cried Weiss as she slapped her hands over her face again and fervently shook her head.

"Well, what's done is done, I'm afraid," said Winter as the blush on her face subsided slightly.

At the sound of the door opening, Winter looked up to find Yang walking into the room with two cups in her hands.

"Oh, Winter! I didn't know you were here," said Yang, "I hope I didn't walk in on your _super-secret_ project."

"You did not," smiled Winter as she stood up to address Yang properly, "Weiss and I were going to make a trip to Vale because we are running short on supplies."

"Oh. Well, maybe if you guys let me in on it…" said Yang in a sing-song voice.

"Not another word, Xiao Long!" said Weiss, blankly, keeping her head in her hands.

Yang glanced at Weiss and raised an eyebrow, "What's up with her," she asked.

"It would probably be best if she told you herself," shrugged Winter.

Before Yang had a chance to ask Weiss anything, a scroll began to vibrate somewhere in the room.

Yang and Weiss looked at Winter as the specialist pulled out her scroll.

Winter's thumb hovered over the device as it continued to ring in her hand. It was like she was frozen in place.

"Uh… Aren't you going to answer that?" asked Yang as she pointed at Winter's still vibrating scroll.

Winter looked up from her scroll and smiled, "No. It's not important," she said as she walked towards the door, "If you two would excuse me, I forgot something in my room. Weiss, you should leave for Vale now. I will meet you there shortly."

With that, Winter hastily left the room.

The remaining occupants of the room stared at the door for a few seconds and shared a suspicious look.

"That was…"

"Odd…" Weiss finished.

"Yeah… What do you think _that_ was about?" asked Yang.

"I can't say I know. She probably just got a call about something important. Maybe it was General Ironwood with some 'classified' information," said Weiss, rolling her eyes.

"You could go to Winter's room and find out?" suggested Yang.

"Are you suggesting that I _spy_ on my older sister?" asked Weiss, incredulously.

"Hey, don't tell me you aren't at least a _little_ curious about what Winter is like when she's all super-secret-specialist mode?" chuckled Yang.

"Didn't your father ever tell you about the saying 'curiosity killed the cat?'" asked Weiss.

"Well, yeah. But satisfaction brought it back," said Yang with a large grin.

"I was unaware that you knew about the second part of that phrase," sighed Weiss as a small smile crept onto her face, "Okay, fine. I won't spy on her, though. I'm just going to ask her what's going on and that's it."

"Hey, I never said you _had_ to spy on her," said Yang.

"Yeah, whatever," said Weiss as she waved Yang off.

Yang giggled as she leaned on Blake's desk and folded her arms, "So, how's the _project_ going?" she asked.

"I'm not telling you a thing. You are going to be just as blind about it as everyone else is until its ready," said Weiss as she narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"Oh, come _on._ I didn't ask you to tell me anything _specific._ Just tell me if it's going well so far or something," said Yang.

Weiss looked up and down at Yang with a sigh as she stood up and leaned against her dresser, _"Fine,"_ she huffed, "It's going well and we're making progress, but I just wish there was some way to do this more efficiently. There has to be!"

"Efficient how?" asked Yang as she pushed herself off Blake's desk.

"Since I don't want anyone to see what I have planned for them, Winter and I have to be careful about what times we work on the project. We can't work for more than a few hours before we have to pack up and wait for the next time the dorm room is empty," Weiss vented.

"Oh," said Yang as she hummed and slowly walked towards Weiss, "Why don't you just go to Winter's room and do your stuff there? That way you won't have any interruptions from Blake or Ruby and Winter won't have to keep me out of here anymore."

"That wouldn't…" Weiss began before looking away in thought, "That's actually a great idea. Why didn't _I_ think of that!"

"See? _This_ is exactly why you need me in on this project of yours," said Yang.

Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed, "Oh, not this again..."

"Please, Weiss?" asked Yang as she stepped in front of Weiss and faced her, "I can help you do whatever it is this is!"

"How many times do I have to say this, Yang?" groaned Weiss, "I want this to be a special gesture from me to everyone that I care about at Beacon. That includes _you._ "

"You don't have to do that for me," smiled Yang, "I already know that I'm special to you."

"But you still deserve this. You made the choice to do _so_ much for me. I feel like I owe you this project," Weiss explained.

"Weiss, I _chose_ to be your girlfriend. I _want_ to be with you. You don't _owe_ me anything," said Yang as she pushed some of Weiss' flowing white locks behind her ear.

Weiss looked up into those pleading lilac irises that she had grown to adore so much. She would never get tired of seeing them.

"I… I don't know," said Weiss, bashfully.

"Please? I really miss getting to spend time with you," purred Yang as her hand glided down Weiss' neck and down her arm, "I miss _touching_ you…" her hand rested on Weiss' hip, "I miss _holding_ you…" her hand moved up and grazed Weiss' side, "I miss _kissing_ you…"

Weiss let out a shaky breath as Yang ever so gently cupped Weiss' cheek and lightly graced her lips with a burning hot kiss. Her eyelids slowly closed as she quietly moaned into Yang's lips and let her body be pulled closer.

Yang pulled away, far faster than Weiss cared for and smirked, "Please don't make me wait," she breathed, desperately.

Weiss blushed and looked into Yang's eyes again with a quick sigh, "O-okay. I'll let you help. But you can't tell _anyone_ about it, okay?"

Yang grinned widely and let out an exuberant cheer, "Yes! _Thank_ you!"

Weiss giggled as the blonde hopped around the room like a deranged lunatic.

"Alright! Now, show me what you've been cooking!" said Yang, her smile not fading in the slightest.

Weiss rolled her eyes with a smile as she plucked a notebook with the words 'The Project' written on the front from her desk and presented it to Yang, "These are the plans."

Yang took the notebook and opened it, flipping through page after page, taking in all the details and schematics of the so-called 'project.'

"What is it? Some sort of billboard?" asked Yang.

"In a way it is, I suppose," said Weiss as she looked over Yang's shoulder at the notebook, "It's a collage of drawings from all the wonderful moments I've shared with everyone."

Yang's eyes widened as her jaw hit the floor, "What!? This is so _awesome!_ I can't wait to see this!" she laughed, "And the best part is I get to help with it now."

"Well, it's like you said. I really need it," chuckled Weiss.

"Yeah, especially with this lame title," Yang chuckled.

"You'll have to forgive me. I didn't put much thought into it," said Weiss as she rolled her eyes.

"I can tell. _'The Project.'_ That's so _bland_ and unoriginal," said Yang as she grabbed a pencil off Weiss' desk, scribbling out the words and writing something else, "There! Much better."

Weiss raised an eyebrow and took the notebook back from Yang and looked at the change she made.

"Project Freezerburn? Our team attack name?" Weiss asked with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah! Since this is _our_ project now, I thought it seemed fitting," reasoned Yang, "You don't like it?"

Weiss looked at the words.

_Project Freezerburn…_

"No..." said Weiss as she smiled up at Yang, "I _love_ it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	33. Revelations

Winter's scroll continued to vibrate as she hastily made her way to her guest room. She knew the man who was calling her would be frustrated for making him wait this long. Unfortunately for them both, that was out of her control.

When she finally reached her room, Winter calmly shut the door behind her and looked down at her scroll. She suddenly felt the urge to vomit and hastily found a seat on her bed. All she could do was stare at the screen, letting the seconds pass by as she steeled herself.

With a sad sigh, she reluctantly answered the scroll and put it to her ear.

"Hello, Father," Winter greeted, keeping her voice low and even.

 _"I am most displeased, Winter,"_ said Jacques Schnee, _"How could it be that you have sojourned at Beacon for one full week, yet fail to complete any of the tasks I gave you?"_

"It is because I am confused, Father," Winter hissed, "One month ago, you would have bent over backward to keep me away from my sister, but now you ask me to work more closely with her than ever before. What does this _ridiculous_ plot of yours accomplish exactly?"

Jacques sighed and grumbled, _"Why must you make this situation more troublesome than it need be? If you would simply do as I have instructed, all would soon become clear."_

"Then enlighten me. Tell me what your motive is, and I just might _willingly_ give you what you seek," said Winter with venom dripping from her voice.

" _If I did that now, you wouldn't understand,"_ said Jacques, calmly.

"And why, may I ask, is that?"

" _Because you are a most stubborn girl!"_ Jacques suddenly shouted, _"You hold so much ire towards me that you never look past my methods to try and understand my motives!"_

"What do your motives matter when your methods are so _cruel_ and _vile!"_ voiced Winter, "Your methods are what made Weiss and I leave that penitentiary you call home in the first place!"

" _I—"_ Jacques began before sighing instead, _"Do not waste my time. You are bound to have learned something over the last week."_

"And I will tell you none of it. I will not be a part of this foolish ploy any longer," said Winter defiantly.

Winter listened carefully as Jacques fell silent. He was probably fuming now.

" _Winter,"_ said Jacques in a low, dangerous voice, _"I urge you to reconsider. Remember our deal."_

Winter hesitated for a moment. She had been lying to Weiss for far too long. She could not go on like this. But she had seen, first hand, everything Weiss had gained while she was here. Yang, Ruby, Blake, Team JNPR… _They_ were her family now. Perhaps she did not need Winter any more…

Winter would die before she let Jacques take that away from Weiss. Even if it meant Weiss would never forgive her when everything was all said and done.

A knock sounded at her door and Winter was briefly taken away from her conversation.

"Winter?" called a voice, unmistakably Weiss', from behind the door.

" _Winter!"_ commanded Jacques, pulling the specialist back into her dilemma.

"Goodbye, Father," Winter whispered into her scroll so only Jacques could hear her.

" _Stupid girl!"_ Jacques suddenly exploded with anger, _"If you hang up that scroll I will—"_

With her scroll now safely in her pocket, Winter, panicking at not providing her father with a proper answer, rushed to the door and opened it.

"Hello again, Winter," greeted Weiss, chastely, as she glided into the room.

"Weiss, what are you doing here? I said I would meet you in Vale," said Winter.

"There was a slight change in plans," Weiss smiled sheepishly, "Remember how Yang _really_ wanted to be a part of Project Freezerburn?"

"Project Freezerburn?"

"Yeah, that's what we're calling it now," chuckled Weiss, "Anyway, I decided to let Yang help us with it. She's in Vale getting the supplies we need as we speak."

"I see," said Winter as she curiously studied Weiss.

Weiss held her hands out in front of her, "I know what you're going to say. I let Yang whither me down until I relented and let her join."

Winter raised her eyebrow causing Weiss to scratch at her arm nervously.

"And… That's exactly what happened. Yang can be so stubborn sometimes," Weiss smirked, "Gosh, like when she was trying to become friends with me in the first place. She would not stop trying and it got really annoying," she chuckled to herself, "I'm glad she didn't stop, though. She really is my better half. Anyway, I digress, she came up with the idea that we use _this_ room for the project so we don't have to worry about anyone else coming into the room and spoiling the surprise. Is that alright with you?" Weiss asked.

"Y-yes, of course," Winter stumbled over her words as she gestured around the room of sparse furnishings, "As you can see, there is plenty of space to work in here."

"Wonderful! We'll have this project done in no time now!" Weiss grinned.

The room was now quiet. Winter simply nodded and stood in front of Weiss awkwardly.

The smile on Weiss' face slowly dissipated and she cleared her throat, "Winter, I just wanted to ask you: is everything alright?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Winter nearly jumped at the question but managed to plaster a warm smile on her face, "Yes, everything is fine," she said, evenly.

Weiss scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion, "Are you sure? If there's one thing Yang has shown me, it's that talking about your problems works wonders in making you feel better."

Winter glanced idly to her side as her hand brushed over the scroll in her pocket. Without looking at Weiss, she nodded her head while biting her cheek.

Weiss sighed and smiled widely, "Okay! I'll be back with Yang in a few hours," she said sweetly as she started for the door, only to stop as she gripped the handle and faced Winter again, "Winter?"

"Yes, Sister?"

"I want you to know how happy I am that we're together again. I almost forgot how wonderful it was having you as a big sister. I'm glad to know you were thinking about me just as much as I was thinking about you during our time apart. It really means a lot to me that you came to visit," smiled Weiss as she managed to secure Winter's gaze, "What I'm trying to say is… Thank you for coming back, Winter."

Winter watched Weiss' smile shift ever so slightly at her lack of a response. How could she respond to that? Now she _knew_ she had to tell Weiss about what their father had asked her to do, but she failed to even begin to fathom how difficult it would be. Could she ever forgive herself for breaking Weiss' heart? Could she ever forgive herself for keeping the truth from her? Even as Weiss turned to leave the room, Winter was conflicted. Maybe she could help her stand against Father when he arrives and pretend to be none the wiser of his plans.

No.

Weiss is strong. Stronger than Winter. Stronger than her father. Her broken heart would heal, and in time, maybe her trust in Winter would follow suit.

"Weiss, wait," adjured Winter, her eyes trained on the floor.

Weiss almost looked smug as if she had cracked Winter's shell just like Yang had cracked her own all those months ago.

Winter would be sad to see that expression fade to hurt and betrayal.

"I didn't come to Beacon to visit you…" Winter began, trying her best to ignore the way Weiss' shoulders instantly fell, and her face filled with disappointment, "I was _sent_ here… To _spy_ on you."

Confusion returned to her features, "Sent to spy on _me…_ By who?" she asked, fearing the answer.

Winter frowned, "I... I think you already know who," she choked, feeling the bile rise in her throat.

Weiss would have fallen onto the floor if it were not for the door holding her up as her knees buckled under her weight.

"No…" Weiss breathed, "You left home eight _years_ ago. You cut all ties!"

"At first I did. But Father has his ways of getting ahold of people, no matter how hard they try to escape him," Winter nearly whispered.

Weiss let out a quick puff of air. She moved her palm to steady her spinning head, clumsily trudging towards Winter's bed for a seat.

"How? _Why?"_ Weiss pleaded, tears just barely beginning to form in her eyes.

Winter continued to stand in the middle of the room, keeping her eyes trained on her pristine, Atlesian boots, "The reasons why I left are the same. I was afraid I would become a carbon copy of Father. I didn't know at the time, but Father had already given up on trying to turn me into the perfect, obedient daughter he always wanted for the company. He had set his sights on _you,_ Weiss."

Weiss watched Winter's emotionless face as the first tear traced her scar and rolled down her cheek.

"He looked back on his failure with me and learned from it; becoming even more ruthless and cruel with you," said Winter, her voice straining, "He didn't want me in your life. He was afraid I would influence you too much. He made me think you hated me for leaving. All those letters you sent never got to me. Instead, they went straight to Father."

Weiss let out a shaky breath and balled up the end of her skirt in her fists, "Ironwood didn't make a mistake? It was Father the whole time?"

"Yes," Winter murmured, letting her head hang as shame consumed her, "He didn't want me to know you still cared about me. He succeeded; for a while, anyway. I felt sick to my stomach every day. Just over a year into my training, I was compelled to call home. I wanted so badly to talk to you, but Father would always tell me you didn't have the time to keep in touch with me. He told me he would tell me what was happening in your life as long as I kept calling… So I did." 

* * *

_"Ah, Winter. It's good to hear from you again. Tell me: how is James treating you these days?"_ greeted that cold, arrogant voice that only seemed to sound more treacherous through the scroll.

"Fine, Father. How is Weiss?" Winter asked brusquely.

 _"As I informed you last week, Weiss is about to graduate from prep school. You should know she has been working very hard,"_ Jacques hummed.

"That is good to hear… You must be proud," said Winter.

 _"Yes, I suppose I should be,"_ mumbled Jacques, agitation clear in his voice, _"She wants to attend Beacon Academy! Can you believe that? When the greatest combat school in Remnant is only a short flight away from home."_

"Oh," whispered Winter, nearly letting her scroll drop from her ear.

It could not be that Weiss did not want to attend Atlas Academy because Winter, herself, went there, could it? Was Weiss so distraught by Winter leaving her to fend for herself that she did not want to risk even _seeing_ her again?

 _"Yes, it truly is a tragedy,"_ Jacques sighed, _"Weiss simply does not yet realize the mistake she is making."_

"So, you're letting her go to Beacon?" asked Winter.

 _"Of course not. I won't let my daughter throw away her career by enrolling at Beacon,"_ scoffed Jacques as Winter rolled her eyes, _"I know she will thank me later when she is settled in at Atlas Academy."_

"Father, I don't think that is a good idea. This is the time when Weiss needs to learn to be independent. Going to school away from home would do her good," explained Winter.

 _"True, but I can't keep an eye on her while she is halfway across the globe,"_ grumbled Jacques.

Winter did not need to be there to understand what Weiss was going through. Jacques just gave her reason to believe Weiss was not only trying to avoid _her_ but their father as well.

Winter hated how Jacques would try to control every aspect of her life. She would not be surprised if Weiss wanted to get as far from him as she could for that reason alone.

"You can't just hold her hostage like this for the rest of her life, Father. Weiss deserves to go to whatever school she wants," pushed Winter.

Jacques sighed, _"What would you know of the things Weiss deserves? From what I recall, the last time you saw her was nearly eight years ago. I already lost one heiress to her zealous aspirations. I will not lose another."_

Winter's eyes shot open, "How could you be so selfish! Weiss is not just a tool for the company!" she voiced.

 _"Do not lecture me about being selfish, daughter!"_ Jacques suddenly shouted, _"Must I remind you that you were the one to pass down the status of heiress to the Schnee Dust Company to Weiss? That is about the only thing I want her to receive from you! By keeping her in Atlas where I can see her, I can guarantee you won't taint her mind!"_

"Taint her mind?" Winter asked, disbelieving, "Is that why you won't let me speak to Weiss? You think I'll get her to renounce her title as heiress?"

 _"Now you understand,"_ said Jacques, dangerously calm, _"If I let Weiss attend Beacon, there would be nothing stopping you from contacting her and filling her head with lies about the company and myself."_

"That's… Not fair," breathed Winter as she shook her head, "You can't punish Weiss because of me."

 _"It's not a punishment. It's a necessary precaution,"_ growled Jacques, _"However, there is something you could do that would make such a precaution superfluous. A favor of sorts."_

Winter thought for a moment, wondering what kind of favor the man on the other end of her scroll wanted.

"What do you want me to do?" Winter asked, carefully.

 _"If you really want Weiss to have the freedom to attend Beacon, I only ask that you give me your word that you will never speak to her again. At least not until I am confident she will not stray from the path I have set her on,"_ offered Jacques.

Winter could not believe what she was hearing, "You… You _monster!_ How can you be like this!? _"_

 _"Do we have a deal or not?"_ asked Jacques.

Winter felt sick to her stomach, like a hurricane of nausea was raging inside her. She did not know whether Jacques knew he would be giving Weiss an opportunity to become free of his reach by offering this deal. Perhaps Weiss was already too far gone to worry him about that.

But Weiss was strong. Winter knew she would find a way out of Jacques' clutches on her own at Beacon.

Winter knew what she had to do.

* * *

"I accepted the deal, and you were allowed to attend Beacon," Winter said, dryly.

Weiss was conflicted. She was frustrated that Winter would go through with such a stupid deal with her father. But she was also thankful.

If Winter had not accepted the deal, Weiss would have never met Yang or her closest friends.

"I always wondered why Father so whimsically allowed me to come here," whimpered Weiss.

Winter sighed and moved to sit next to Weiss on her bed, "Of course, Father altered the deal. A little over a month ago, he contacted me and asked me to visit you. He wanted to know everything: what you've been up to, the people you've consolidated with… All of it."

"Well… I _have_ been ignoring him," Weiss admitted.

"It is for that reason Father sent me, but he never told me what he wants to do with the information he requested," Winter said as she turned to Weiss and grasped her hand in her own, "So I didn't give it to him."

Weiss tilted her head and wiped the wetness from her cheeks, "But what about the deal? What will Father do now?"

Winter looked away and clenched her eyes shut, "He said that If I ever violated our agreement, he would not hesitate to pull you out of Beacon himself."

" _What!?"_ cried Weiss as she shot up from her seat, "He can't do that! Not after everything that's happened!"

Weiss' tears came back in full force as her thoughts rushed over everything she had gained. She could _not_ lose Yang.

"Weiss, I am so sorry…" Winter whimpered as her eyes filled with tears as well, "It's my fault."

Weiss sprinted out the room, leaving the door wide open after ripping it out of the way. Her worst fear was coming true. Her father was coming to Beacon.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to think, but she could only run.

Before long, she found herself back in the dorm room. It was empty.

Weiss' breathing suddenly felt heavy and it did not help that she was already short of breath from running. Her mind raced with worst-case scenarios. She needed to tell someone. She needed to tell Yang.

But Yang was nowhere to be found.

Weiss' spinning head felt light as she maniacally wheezed. She felt the walls close in on her from all sides, making her feel claustrophobic. Again, her eyes watered.

Her turmoil was so great that she failed to notice the door open and close again.

"Oh, hey Weiss. I got those supplies you wanted," said Yang, cheerfully, as she set a plastic bag on Weiss' desk.

Weiss spun around on her heel, "Yang!" she bawled.

"Woah there," hushed Yang, her cheerful smile instantly shifting into a concerned frown, as she rushed towards Weiss and pulled her into a soft embrace, "What happened?"

"H-he's… He's—" Weiss stuttered between gasps.

"Hey, it's okay… I've got you," Yang cooed as she stroked her fingers through Weiss' hair, "Just _breathe."_

Weiss let her eyes fall closed and focused on her breathing. Following Yang's example, she breathed in for five counts and then out for five counts until she was calm enough to speak.

"Yang…" Weiss began, "My father is coming to Beacon, and he's going to take me home."

Weiss felt Yang flinch, but the blonde did not dare let go of her.

"Not if I can help it. When will he get here?" asked Yang.

"I don't know exactly. Just that it will be sometime soon," whimpered Weiss.

Yang was silent for a moment, "We can fight this. Remember what I said before the dance."

"But that was before we knew he was really coming," said Weiss, "Defying my father is a lot easier said than done."

"We still have to try, Weiss," said Yang as she pulled back and looked at her girlfriend, "I think what we have together is too wonderful to lose. At least not without a fight. You, me, and all of our friends will help us."

Weiss looked away and sighed before looking Yang in the eye, "It won't be easy," Weiss reminded.

"Nothing worth doing ever is," Yang smiled fondly as she brushed her hand over Weiss' tear-stained cheek.

Weiss let a hint of a smile appear on her face, "I know Winter will help too," she nodded her head before gasping, "Winter! I forgot about Winter!" she shouted as she ran out of the dorm room.

Confused, Yang shook her head and ran after Weiss, opting to follow her now and ask questions later. 

* * *

Winter sighed as she zipped her suitcase closed. She would miss Weiss, dearly. She could only hope that her sister would forgive her in the distant future.

She thought about staying to help Weiss with their father, but she could not imagine Weiss being able to even look at her for lying to her for so long. Even Winter could not bear to look at herself.

The specialist quickly patted herself down, flattening any wrinkles and straightening any garments of her uniform.

She reasoned General Ironwood would not mind if she returned before her leave of absence was over. Although, the good general always told her she needed a nice, long, relaxing vacation.

Unfortunately, this _"vacation"_ that her father sent her on was none of those things.

She was just about to make a final check of the room for any items she brought, though few there were, when her door was violently thrown open once again.

"Winter!" called Weiss as Yang slid to a stop behind her.

Winter turned abruptly, clearly surprised to see her sister again, "Weiss, don't worry. I talked to your headmaster already. He said you may still use this room after I leave," she explained.

Weiss stamped her foot on the floor, "I don't want you to leave!"

Winter snapped her attention to Weiss, her expression as bemused as Yang's, "But I thought…"

"I won't let Father tear us apart again," insisted Weiss, "Yes, what you did was wrong, but you only did it because you thought it would be best for me. I can't be angry at you for _caring."_

Winter opened her mouth to rebuke, but smiled and shook her head instead, "I'm so glad Father let you come here. It was the most fantastic mistake of his life."

"He wouldn't have done it if it weren't for you," Weiss smiled as she rushed forward and hugged Winter.

Winter let out a heavy sigh, letting all her guilt leave her at last. It looked like she would be using up the rest of her leave after all.

"Uh, can someone fill me in on what this whole thing is?" asked Yang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	34. Indomitable

Weiss walked leisurely down the halls of the dorm building. The quiet clicking of her heels sent echoes that bounced against the walls.

As she stepped outside, she was met with the cool breeze of the late autumn air. Soon, winter would begin and Weiss would feel more at home under the light grey skies and soft snow that would eventually cover the ground.

She had noticed a drastic change in temperature over the last few weeks while she honed her summoning with her sister.

Ever since Weiss, Yang, and Winter relocated their little project into Winter's room, progress has been much faster. In just the last week, Weiss had completed nearly all of her sketches and would be able to put everything together tomorrow.

Weiss smiled as she pictured the looks on her friends' faces when they saw this unexpected homage for them. She still felt nothing on Remnant was grand enough to reward her friends for their kindness, but she reasoned this would be the best she could offer for now.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh campus air, Weiss looked up at the trees that lined Beacon's walkways. Only the most stubborn leaves remained now. They reminded her of someone.

When Weiss found herself walking past the garages, she was pleasantly surprised to find that very someone tending to her black and yellow motorcycle inside. Despite the colder weather, she still wore her usual cropped shirt and short shorts, with that ever-iconic purple bandana tied around her left knee.

The second she looked up and found Weiss watching her, she smiled brightly, "Oh, hey, Babe! I was just about to come find you."

"Good afternoon, Yang," said Weiss, sweetly, "Back from Vale already?"

"Yeah, and I got the board for the project. I was going to leave it in my garage until we pin everything up," said Yang, pointing over her shoulder at the large, empty bulletin board in the garage, "It was surprisingly easy to find, too. I thought I would be in Vale for hours."

Weiss nodded and smiled as Yang closed the garage door and walked beside her. She adored how Yang made the choice to accompany her completely unprompted.

"It certainly looked large enough," said Weiss as she scrunched her eyebrows together, "Do you think it's big enough? I'm pretty sure it's big enough, right?"

Yang chuckled and brushed her knuckle on Weiss' cheek, "You're so cute."

Weiss blushed lightly as she failed to suppress a smile. She wondered if she would ever get tired of the small gestures and compliments Yang gave her.

Probably not.

"So, I was talking with everyone after you left for Winter's room this morning, and we came up with a plan for when your dad gets here," said Yang, her cheerful voice much tamer and soothing.

The smile on Weiss' face faltered slightly as she took a deep breath and nodded her head, nervously.

Yang examined Weiss' expression. It was clear the heiress was anxious about her father's arrival as everyone had expected. None of them knew what he would attempt when he arrives at Beacon or what army of bodyguards or maybe even Atleasian soldiers he would bring with him—if he even decided to come personally at all—to ensure Weiss was dragged home. Yang knew one thing, however: the time to stress out about it was definitely not now.

Yang smirked and brought her hands up behind her head, "It's pretty sneaky if I do say so myself. Me and the guys made sure it was completely foolproof," she boasted, "We're not letting anyone lay a hand on you. We even came up with a name for us. Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Team JNPR, and their fearless leader Yang Xiao Long are unstoppable! Together, we make up the _Weiss Schnee Protection Squad!_ Or the _Wisps_ for short."

Weiss huffed in amusement and failed to hide her renewed smile as she eyed Yang, "The _Wisps?"_ she chuckled.

Yang grinned and shrugged her shoulders, "It was either that or 'the Wasps,' and nobody wants to be called that, so…"

Weiss laughed and let out a contented sigh.

Yang simply smiled and looked upon Weiss. All traces of anxiety and dread were gone, and in its place, was a warm feeling of mirth. She could not imagine a better feeling than being the cause of that.

"Well, you'll have to fill me in on the details later," said Weiss as she stopped walking and looked on at something ahead of them, "I have something I need to do first."

Yang followed Weiss' gaze, spotting what she was referring to and nodded in understanding, "Of course. Take your time."

Weiss faced Yang and gave her a quick kiss on her lips, "Thanks, Yang."

"No problem," smiled Yang as she began walking back towards the way they came, "I'll see you back at the dorm," she waved.

Weiss waved back until Yang turned around. She turned and slowly walked up to the airship that was currently being prepped to leave; where her sister was standing.

Before Weiss could reach the airship, Winter saw her and walked down the ramp with a soft smile on her face, "Weiss. Hello again."

Weiss stood in front of Winter "Hello," she greeted with a sad smile, "Gods, it feels like you've been here for so long and now…" Weiss looked away for a moment, "Do you really have to go?"

"I'm afraid so. I can only be on leave for so long. If I stayed any longer, I would be court-martialed."

Weiss sighed and stared at her toes, "I know… I just wish we could have more time."

Winter tilted her head and placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder, "There _will_ be more time," she smiled as Weiss looked up, "I promise I'll come back whenever I can."

"I'm already looking forward to it."

Winter huffed and let her hand fall from Weiss' arm, "I only wish I could've stayed and helped you stand against whatever thugs Father sends," she said with a shake of her head, "But, honestly, I am not worried in the least. I have witnessed, first hand, the bond you share with Yang, and all of your friends for that matter. What you all have is strong: indomitable, even."

"Yeah…" Weiss smiled fondly, "I'm so glad I have someone like Yang in my life."

Winter studied Weiss' soft smile. The way her sister's eyes stared seemingly at nothing…

"You love her… Don't you," Winter stated more than asked.

"I do," Weiss answered, longingly and without a moment's hesitation, "So very much."

Winter hummed, "You should tell her that."

Weiss met Winter's gaze, "I've been waiting for the right time," she explained, "With all this commotion with your visit, and Father, and the project, I couldn't find the time to tell her exactly how I feel."

"I do not remember you as one to hide behind excuses," Winter smirked, "If you keep waiting for the right time, it will never come. You need to be decisive. _You_ must make the time right."

Weiss thought for a moment, "I suppose I should tell her soon then. I think I'll do it on our next date… Whenever that may be."

"If that is when you believe is best."

"Specialist Schnee!" called a man from inside Winter's aircraft, "Everything's prepped and we're ready to leave when you are, ma'am."

Winter turned and nodded at the man before he walked back into the airship. She sighed and smiled at Weiss.

"Good luck, Sister," she said as she stepped forward and hugged Weiss, "Keep practicing your summoning. It is your greatest weapon but also your greatest defense. It comes in handy whenever you need to save yourself… _O_ _r_ someone you love."

Weiss hugged Winter tighter, "I'll miss you... I love you, Winter."

"I love you too," smiled Winter as she parted from Weiss and started up the ramp to her airship.

Weiss watched as her sister walked up with confidence and elegance. She was sad to see her leave. She was glad Winter came to Beacon in the first place. Now, she knew Winter was not some goddess with no imperfections, but a human being like the rest of them.

She liked that.

"I'll send you a letter when this is all over!" Weiss called, prompting Winter to face her one last time, "And this time, you'd better send one back!"

Winter smirked as she walked backward into the ship, "There is nothing on Remnant that could stop me from doing that now."

As soon as those words left Winter's lips, the ramp folded up and sealed her inside the aircraft.

Weiss smiled as the watched the ship soar into the sky, not to return until the good general would allow her to. She had a feeling that would not be _too_ long.

The heiress watched the ship until it became a speck in the sky, indistinguishable from a buzzing insect if there were any out and about at this time of the year. She sighed as she turned and started for the dorm.

Before now, she was only worried about how her father was planning on pulling her away from the academy. Now, however, she had something to look forward to.

Weiss was going to tell Yang how much she loves her… But only if they get through this, together. 

* * *

Yang bit her cheek as she walked, hurriedly, through the dorm building. Her eyes were trained on the floor, making sure she would not walk into anything while her mind raced.

By the time she reached the dorm room, Yang's cheek would have been torn to shreds were it not for her aura. Finally snapping out of her trance, she took a deep breath and used her scroll to unlock the dorm room and enter it.

She had to do a double-take and halted in her tracks.

Blake was currently holding Ruby's face in her hands, kissing her deeply on her bed. Neither of them had yet to notice Yang enter.

Yang could not hold back the smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto her hip. She stood there, waiting for the couple to notice her.

It soon became clear that they would not as their kiss changed into something else: almost hungry.

Yang cleared her throat loudly as a light blush graced over her cheeks.

Blake turned to face the door and froze like a deer under headlights.

Ruby, just behind her, looked mortified, "Yang! Uh… Hi!"

"Hey, Sis. Am I interrupting anything?"

Ruby's face turned a deep shade of red, "N-no, we were just… Uh… Hanging out?"

Yang laughed as she moved to the middle of the room, "Gosh, I haven't seen you like this since I caught you stealing cookies when you were ten."

Ruby shrunk into herself and looked away timidly as Blake finally lifted her jaw from off the floor, "Yang, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Blake, don't even worry about it. You guys are dating; these things are going to happen," said Yang as she waved the faunus off.

Ruby shot up from her seat next to Blake and made for the door, "Welp! I've gotta go now! Jaune and I are… Doing something! Bye!"

Yang chuckled, "Real convincing, Rubes. _Real_ convincing."

A few awkward seconds passed as Yang stood in silence. The quiet was almost tangible to Blake.

"S-so… Where's Weiss?" Blake asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

Yang finally turned to Blake and sighed deeply, "She went to the air dock to say goodbye to Winter one last time before she leaves. And before you ask: no, I did not tell her the plan yet."

Blake watched as Yang frowned and flopped down next to her on the bed. She matched Yang's expression and rested her hand on her knee, "Need to talk?"

Yang briefly looked up at Blake and smiled weakly, "Nah, I'm alright… Thanks."

Blake tilted her head, not convinced in the slightest. She knew this was a difficult time for Yang. The brawler had been frantic while they all came up with the plan to stop Jacques from taking Weiss home against her will.

"Yang… The plan _will_ work. It's honestly really good," reassured Blake.

"I hope you're right about that," Yang chuckled dryly, "I don't know how I could live with myself if it _didn't_ work."

Blake looked at her, confused, "You know none of this is your fault, right?" she asked softly.

"That's where you're wrong," Yang frowned as she stared at Weiss' bed, "This is _all_ my fault. If it weren't for me, Weiss wouldn't be afraid of being taken away."

"If it weren't for you, Weiss would still be living under her father's thumb," Blake pleaded.

"Yeah, well, Weiss came here in the first place to get away from him," whispered Yang, "And now he's dragging her back."

Yang idly ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes not leaving Weiss' bed, "I can tell she's been thinking about it nonstop. Her face says it all... Earlier, all I had to do was mention the plan and it completely darkened her day."

Blake watched Yang's unmoving eyes as her ears flicked under her bow, trying to hear the quiet words.

"I've been putting on a strong face for her. I see how troubled and vulnerable she feels, and I try to be a pillar for her to lean on. I act like I'm not afraid, but the truth is: I'm terrified," Yang whimpered as she finally looked into Blake's eyes, "I'm terrified that at the end of… _A_ _ll this…_ Weiss will be gone for good. I'm terrified that I won't be strong enough to keep her here. Blake… I can't _lose_ her."

The tears that had welled in Yang's lilac eyes finally trickled down her cheeks, "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me right next to Ruby. She always tries her best in everything she does. She sometimes acts cold and detached, but it's always worth it when I get to that warm, gooey center. She really cares about how I feel, and actively supports me. Whenever I'm feeling down, all I have to do is look into her beautiful eyes, and I always feel right at home. And that laugh… That wonderful, adorable laugh! I always feel such an incredible rush whenever I make her laugh. I… I _need_ her."

Blake smiled, "That's because she makes you happy."

Yang shook her head, "I need her because I _love_ her," smiled Yang as tears continued to roll down her cheeks, "Gods, I love her so much…"

Blake's smile fell slightly, "Why haven't you told her?"

"I don't want to put Weiss on the spot. In case she doesn't want to say she loves me back."

Blake furrowed her brows and turned away briefly, "You really think Weiss won't say it back?"

"I… I'm not sure. She's probably much less willing to admit she loves me because of how her last relationship ended," Yang explained, "She thought she loved the guy, but he ended up cheating on her before she could tell him."

Blake shook her head, "Yang, you are so much better than that, and I think Weiss knows it. Even then, you can't hide the way you feel from her. She deserves to know this."

Yang sighed, "Yeah… You're right. I'm just… Afraid."

"It's okay to be afraid. But you have to learn to trust in Weiss and trust in yourself. Only then will the plan work and will Weiss keep her spot at Beacon."

Yang nodded and wiped the last of her tears away, "Okay. I _will_ tell Weiss I love her. But there's no way I'm doing that while she's dealing with her father. She has enough on her plate as it is."

"So, when _will_ you tell her?" asked Blake.

Yang stood up and glanced at Weiss' bed again, "I'll do it on our next date. That way, I'll _have_ to make sure the plan works."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	35. The Plan

Weiss always thought the garden on Beacon's campus was underrated. It baffled her that neither students nor professors ever visited the garden just to enjoy the scenery and autumn colored atmosphere. It was a shame only her closest friends would witness this beauty before it was all coated in snow.

In hindsight, the garden was the perfect place to set up Project Freezerburn. Since no one really visited the garden, there was always enough privacy to hang up the dozens of sketches in peace.

Today was especially peaceful. Weiss looked up at the white, cloud-covered sky. The sun could not even be seen from behind the thick clouds. The soft winds made everything seem quiet and at rest. Everything was just so… Calm.

Weiss closed her eyes and breathed in the winds that kissed her face. There were few things on Remnant that made her feel as serene as this.

_"Weiss?"_

That voice was certainly one of them.

Weiss slowly opened her eyes and turned to her beautiful girlfriend, "I'm sorry, I tuned out for a second. What did you say?"

"I asked if there are any last-minute adjustments you wanted to make," Yang smiled as she pointed her thumb at the bulletin board behind her.

Weiss took a few steps back and looked up at the work she and Yang had done. Hanging up all the sketches had taken the better part of an hour, and she could say without any doubts in her mind that every second of it was worth it. On just _one_ bulletin board hung the culmination of everything she held dear about her friends. And it was good, but missing something.

"Actually, there is _one_ more thing," said Weiss as she reached into her bag on the floor.

Yang watched as Weiss carefully pulled a single sheet of paper from the bag and pinned it up in the middle of the board.

"Oh, hey," Yang grinned, "You finished it! _And_ you added to it!"

Weiss smiled and nodded, "Yeah… I only wish Winter could have stayed one more day to see the finished product."

Yang stepped beside Weiss and pulled her into a one-armed embrace as they both admired their work, "I know she would've loved it."

Weiss hummed as she nuzzled into Yang's collar, "Thanks for the help."

"Don't thank me yet," smirked Yang, "First, we've got to call everyone and tell them to meet us here."

Weiss smiled and stole a quick kiss from Yang, "I suppose the honor lies with you."

"You got it, Babe," winked Yang as Weiss walked to her bag.

As Yang's scroll rang for the private channel to all her friends, the quiet stillness of the garden seemed to be interrupted by something. A noise that was steadily growing louder.

Yang looked into the sky and watched as an airship—the most luxurious she had ever seen in her life—flew over them towards the airdock. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped at the sight of the grand Schnee Dust Company logos emblazoned on it.

"Weiss…" said Yang, breathlessly, as the hand holding her scroll dropped to her side.

"I saw it…"

Yang snapped her attention to her girlfriend. Weiss' face was pale—even more so than normal—almost like she was moments away from throwing up.

"Hey. Don't panic," pleaded Yang as she stepped in front of Weiss so that the only thing she could see was herself, "We planned for this. We have a _plan."_

Weiss slowly found Yang's eyes and swallowed as she nodded in understanding, "Looks like the project will have to wait…"

 _"Yang? What's up?"_ called Ruby's quiet voice from the scroll in Yang's hand.

Yang cursed herself. This call was supposed to be good news about the project, not _this._

"A Schnee Dust Company airship is heading for the airdocks. I need everyone at their positions," said Yang in as calm of a voice she could muster, "The plan is happening sooner than we all thought."

After a short silence, letting the new information sink in with everyone on the call, someone spoke up.

 _"Pyrrha and I saw it,"_ said Jaune, _"We're heading for the airdocks as fast as we can."_

"Good," commanded Yang, "Ren and Nora—"

 _"We're almost at the CCT,"_ interrupted Ren.

 _"And me and Blake are already at the library,"_ Ruby piped in.

Yang let out a small sigh and looked at Weiss who was staring at nothing, "Great job everyone. Way to be dependable. I'm taking Weiss to the garages now," she said before slipping her scroll into her pocket and placing her hand on Weiss' arm, "We've got to go."

Weiss nodded again as Yang took her hand and led her out of the garden.

As they walked, they were surrounded by the still quietness like before. Only this time, the quiet was unsettling instead of calming. The end of this day was uncertain, and that scared Weiss a great deal.

As soon as they reached the garage, Yang typed in the password to her door without letting go of Weiss' hand. After the door opened, she hurriedly pulled Weiss inside, shutting the door behind her.

It was dark, and the quiet continued to make the girls uneasy.

"Where's that light switch…" grumbled Yang as she fumbled around the walls.

Suddenly, the room was flushed with a dull, white glow. Bumblebee was parked in the corner, freshly buffed and shined, to make room for a few foldable chairs and some snacks.

"There we go," breathed Yang as she faced Weiss, "You should sit down. If everything goes well, we're going to be here a while."

Weiss silently nodded and sat down in one of the chairs next to Bumblebee.

Yang thought as she leaned against the countertop with all the tools she uses on her motorcycle.

_This really stinks..._

She could not imagine how Weiss must feel right now. To be dreading something for so long that she's scared into silence when it really happened.

She opened her mouth to say something when her scroll pinged.

 _"Yang, we have good news and bad news,"_ said Jaune.

"Give me the bad news first," Yang spoke into her scroll as she and Weiss briefly looked at each other.

 _"The bad news is that we can confirm Jacques Schnee is here, himself,"_ said Jaune, _"Unless there's some other guy who works for the SDC with a mustache like that."_

Yang frowned and looked at Weiss who was staring blankly at the floor.

"And the good news?"

 _"He only has two other people with him,"_ said Pyrrha.

"Only _two?"_ asked Yang, shocked.

 _"Yeah. One guy is really tall and buff, but the other guy is short and has a mustache,"_ said Jaune.

"Sound familiar?" Yang asked as she looked at Weiss.

"The tall one doesn't sound like anyone I know," Weiss sighed and shook her head, "The short man, however, sounds like Klein."

Yang nodded and spoke into her scroll, "The shorter one is Weiss' old butler. She doesn't know who the taller one is."

 _"Roger that. They're coming. Talk to you guys in a bit,"_ said Jaune.

* * *

Jaune slipped his scroll into his pocket and nodded at Pyrrha.

The two briskly walked up to the three men that had just departed from their large airship.

The tall man eyed them dangerously as they approached, but did nothing as Pyrrha waved to them cheerfully.

"Hello, there!" smiled Pyrrha as the other two men faced her and Jaune, "Welcome to Beacon Academy! My name is—"

"Pyrrha Nikos," smiled Jacques Schnee, owner of the Schnee Dust Company and father of their friend, Weiss Schnee, as he held out his hand, "Four-time victor of the Mystral Regional Tournament and top graduate of Sanctum Academy. Your reputation precedes you."

Pyrrha concealed her surprise as she took the CEO's hand in her own, "As does yours, Mr. Schnee."

Jacques' smile fell slightly as he turned his head to Jaune, "That must mean _you_ are Mr. Jaune Arc," he said as he withdrew his hand.

Jaune's jaw fell, "How do you know _my_ name?"

"My daughter, Weiss, has mentioned the both of you in her letters," answered Jacques, "I must say, I am surprised Weiss found you tolerable enough to befriend you."

Bemused, Jaune looked at Pyrrha, "What?"

"I _could_ explain it to you, but I _don't_ think I could really help you understand," said Jacques as he attempted to step around Pyrrha.

"Wait," adjured Pyrrha as she stepped in front of Jacques, "You can't go anywhere on campus without seeing Headmaster Ozpin first."

Jacques stood up straight and folded his arms behind his back, "If you must know, I have already informed Ozpin of my arrival," he said, visibly irritated, "Now, please step aside and leave me to my business."

"But you can't—"

"Children, please," called a woman's voice from behind Jaune and Pyrrha.

The students and Jacques turned to find Professor Goodwitch walking toward them with a frown on her face.

"You _both_ know better than to bother a visitor of the campus."

"We meant no trouble, Professor," said Pyrrha as she bowed slightly to her teacher, "We were only telling Mr. Schnee he should see Headmaster Ozpin before going about his business."

"And _I_ was telling them I've already sent a message to Ozpin informing him of my arrival," said Jacques, his attitude void of any signs of irritation, "Now, if you all would excuse us," he continued as he beckoned his companions to follow him.

"Actually, the children are correct," said Professor Goodwitch, "It is imperative that you visit the headmaster at the CCT before you are allowed to explore the campus."

"It is?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Of _course_ it is!" said Pyrrha with a grin as she subtly nudged Jaune in the ribs, "That's what we were telling Mr. Schnee."

"Fine," sighed Jacques as he looked at the taller companion, "Mr. Rainart, I want you to find _her_ while I visit the headmaster."

"I'm afraid both your associates must go with you," said Professor Goodwitch, "Allow me to _escort_ you all to the CCT."

Jacques eyed Jaune and Pyrrha, "Very well. Lead the way."

Professor Goodwitch smiled as she turned and started for the CCT.

Jaune and Pyrrha let out the breaths they were holding as Jacques and his group walked out of earshot.

Pyrrha took out her scroll and opened the private channel.

"We've successfully redirected Mr. Schnee to the CCT."

* * *

Yang let out a deep breath, "That's good to hear."

 _"But there is one complication…"_ Pyrrha added, cautiously.

"What is it?" Yang asked, as her heart began to beat slightly faster.

 _"He knew our names,"_ Jaune explained.

"Of course he did," Weiss whispered, "He probably read all my letters for Winter, which means he knows everyone's name, and he has a basic idea of everyone's physical appearance."

Yang nervously ran her hand through her hair. They were only on phase one of the plan and there were already problems like this.

"Okay…" she breathed, "Is there anything else we should know?"

 _"Yes, the large man's name is Rainart,"_ said Pyrrha, _"Mr. Schnee tried to send him out to find Weiss, but Professor Goodwitch didn't let him."_

Yang ignored the random mention of their professor and looked at Weiss, "Does that name sound familiar?"

Weiss slowly shook her head.

"Weiss doesn't know who Rainart is. We'll have to keep an eye on him," said Yang, "For now, Jaune and Pyrrha, you guys should make your way to the garage."

 _"We'll be there in a sec,"_ said Jaune as Pyrrha disconnected from the private channel.

"Ren and Nora, were you listening?"

 _"We heard everything,"_ Ren chimed in.

"Good. Get ready for phase two," said Yang, "Waste as much of his time as you can."

 _"You've got it!"_ shouted Nora.

Yang set her scroll on the counter and folded her arms. She did not like seeing Weiss look this vulnerable.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Weiss stared at the floor, slowly shaking her head, "This all just feels… Wrong."

"What do you mean?" asked Yang.

Weiss sighed and met Yang's eyes, "I'm just thinking. I'm okay."

Yang bit her cheek. All she could do was hope the plan would work.

* * *

Ren and Nora watched as Professor Goodwitch and Jacques' group approached the CCT.

"Headmaster Ozpin is at the top floor," informed Professor Goodwitch, "I trust you can find your way from here."

"Indubitably," said Jacques as Professor Goodwitch turned and walked towards the lecture halls. Jacques turned to walk towards the dorm buildings.

"Mr. Schnee, I think it would be best that we actually visit the headmaster," said Klein, causing Jacques to stop and turn to face him.

He opened his mouth to insist otherwise but closed it when he saw several other Professors watching them.

Jacques grumbled to himself as he began to climb the few steps that lead to the entrance of the CCT.

"Let's get this over with."

Ren looked at Nora and nodded.

"Hello!" Nora greeted as she jumped in front of Jacques, "May I offer you an in-depth tour of Beacon Academy's very own Emerald Forest!?"

Jacques frowned with a sigh.

"Mr. Rainart, please remove this little girl from my path."

Before Rainart could do anything, Klein stepped forward, "Mr. Schnee, might I suggest a more _diplomatic_ solution? I don't believe the professors watching us would tolerate Hazel making a mess of their students."

Jacques narrowed his eyes and stood up straight to address the two students in front of him, "I am here to see your headmaster. Please step aside so I may enter the CCT."

Nora grimaced, mockingly, "Oh, you know what? You just missed him! That's a real bummer."

"Do you _really_ believe me to be so _dull_ , Miss Valkyrie?" asked Jacques, "Tell me, was I supposed to think it was a _coincidence_ that the other half of your team greeted me the instant I stepped off my airship? I _know_ what you are trying to do here. You are only prolonging the _inevitable."_

"Mr. Schnee. How delightful," called a voice from the entrance of the CCT.

Jacques looked over Ren and Nora and smiled, "Ah, Headmaster Ozpin. I was just about to come up and inform you of my arrival."

"Oh, I suppose that will not be necessary now. I know you are on my campus. You are free to tend to your business," Ozpin smiled.

"Thank you, headmaster."

"I understand you are looking for your daughter," said Ozpin, "The two students before you are good friends of hers, I'm sure they wouldn't mind showing you the way to her dorm room."

"A kind gesture, but I politely decline. I know the way," smiled Jacques as he shook Ozpin's hand.

"Very well. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," said Ozpin as he nodded to Jacques' company and his students.

Ren and Nora watched, shocked, as Ozpin walked away, leaving them with Jacques.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Valkyrie and Mr. Ren," said Jacques, "Now, if you would excuse me, I must find my daughter."

Ren stood at the steps of the CCT as Jacques walked toward the dorms and whispered something to Hazel.

"This is… _R_ _eally_ bad," said Ren as he looked at Nora who was, for the first time in her life, speechless. 

* * *

Yang jumped at the banging sound coming from the garage door.

"Yang, open up! It's Jaune and Pyrrha," called Jaune from the other side.

Yang growled as she pressed the button, opening the garage door and pulling Jaune and Pyrrha inside, "Are you crazy!?" she whispered as she shut the door, "Why are you banging on the door so loudly? Do you want everyone at Beacon to know where we are!?"

Jaune raised his hands up in defense, "Woah! I-I'm sorry."

Yang's anger washed away as she sighed, "It's fine. Just try not to do anything like that again… And I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a look with each other and glanced back and forth between Weiss and Yang, the latter of which now leaning against the counter.

A thick silence fell upon them. The anxious energy coming from Yang seemed almost tangible.

"So… Did Ren and Nora say anything yet?" asked Pyrrha.

Yang let her head hang, "No. Not yet."

Pyrrha nodded and swayed on her heels as she and Jaune looked around the small garage.

"There are chairs next to Weiss if you guys want to sit down," said Yang, pointing to a couple of foldable chairs.

 _"Yang. We have a serious problem,"_ Nora whined through the private channel.

Yang snatched her scroll from the counter, "Please tell me he's heading for the library," she begged.

_"Unfortunately, fate was not on our side," Ren explained, "Before we could tell Mr. Schnee that Headmaster Ozpin was in the library, Ozpin, himself, walked out of the CCT."_

"Oh no…" Yang breathed as she looked at Jaune and Pyrrha, who were equally stunned, and Weiss, who was still staring at the ground.

 _"But that's not all,"_ Nora continued, _"He's onto us… He knows we're trying to keep him away from Weiss."_

Yang bit her lip and paced in the limited space she had, "This is fine! None of that mattered anyway! We just need him to see what we've got in the library, and he'll back off. Do you know where he's heading right now?"

 _"He's going to your dorm room,"_ said Ren.

Yang's mind raced for any clue of what to do next.

"Ren, Nora, come to the garage. Ruby, Blake, we're changing phase three. I need you to get to the dorm room as fast as you can. When Jacques gets there, tell him Weiss went to the library and take him there. You know what to do from there."

 _"We heard everything. We're already on our way there, Sis,"_ said Ruby, her voice shaky and out of breath.

Yang collapsed against the counter as she let out a heavy breath. All they could do now was wait. 

* * *

Ruby and Blake sat quietly on Blake's bed. The short run from the library to the dorm room was nothing for the two training huntresses and only took them a couple of minutes.

The time alone before the inevitable arrival of Jacques Schnee was their reward for their speed. Or was it a curse?

Neither girl could think of anything to say as the threat loomed in the air. The plan had already gone so terribly awry. They could not help but wonder if their efforts would be for naught.

Ruby shifted in her seat and gently leaned her head on Blake's shoulder, "Blake?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"I really don't want Weiss to go away."

Blake sighed and shifted closer to Ruby, "Me neither."

"Yang really likes her. More than anyone she's dated before," whispered Ruby, "I don't want to see what she'll be like if Weiss is taken away."

"She… She'd be devastated," said Blake.

Ruby slowly lifted her head off Blake's shoulder and folded her hands in her lap, "Do you think the plan will work?"

Blake clenched her jaw, "I think that when all _this_ is over… Everyone will be happy with where they are."

Ruby tilted her head at Blake as a knock sounded at the door.

"You didn't answer my question…" Ruby whispered to herself as Blake opened the door to reveal Jacques Schnee and Klein.

"Hello," Blake greeted.

"Good afternoon, Miss Belladonna and Miss Rose," Jacques greeted with a smile, "I am Weiss' father, Jacques, and this is Klein Sieben."

"At your service," said Klein with a brief bow.

"May we come in?"

"Of course!" smiled Ruby as Blake stepped aside to let their guests inside.

"I'm Blake and this is Ruby," Blake smiled as she introduced herself, "But I guess you already knew that."

"Yes. Weiss has told us a lot about you both in her letters," said Jacques.

Blake nearly growled.

_Letters meant for her sister…_

"Is Weiss here?" asked Jacques as he looked around the room.

"No, Weiss said she was going to study in the library," explained Blake.

"I see," said Jacques as he folded his arms behind his back, "I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with Beacon's campus. Would you girls mind showing us the way to the library?"

Blake's eyes widened slightly as she stole a glance at Ruby, "Um, yeah, we could do that."

"Terrific," Jacques smiled as he and Klein stepped into the hallway.

Ruby nudged Blake's arm, "Wasn't there supposed to be _three_ of them!?" she whispered as Blake nodded, "Where's the other guy!?"

"I don't know! Hush!" whispered Blake as they met Jacques in the hallway.

"After you," said Jacques as he gestured for Blake and Ruby to take the lead.

"Right this way," smiled Ruby as they began to make their way out of the dorm building.

Silence fell on their ears once again, only this silence felt twice as intense. Ruby and Blake shared the occasional uncomfortable glance, always feeling the CEO's watchful gaze burning holes through the backs of their heads.

"Such a beautiful campus," Jacques commented as they walked, "I can see why Weiss was so adamant on attending here."

"It _is_ quite beautiful," said Blake, sending a polite smile over her shoulder.

As the group entered the library, Ruby shut the door behind them while Blake walked straight to one of the monitors.

Jacques looked around and smiled, "I don't see Weiss anywhere. Is it possible she _left_ and went somewhere else?"

"Weiss was never here in the first place," admitted Blake as she turned to face Jacques.

"Then, please, tell me why you said otherwise in your dorm room?" Jacques asked, his smile unwavering.

"Because we know why you're here," said Ruby from the closed doors, "And we won't let you take Weiss against her will!"

Jacques raised his eyebrows, "What a bold statement, Miss Rose. You must realize, Weiss is _my_ daughter and her wellbeing is _my_ responsibility."

"After everything she's told us, I don't think you really care," nipped Blake as she slowly approached Jacques.

Jacques' smile fell as he bit his cheek, "You can't stop me from seeing her."

"Yes, we can. If you really care about your company so much," said Blake as she handed Jacques a thick envelope.

"What is this?" asked Jacques as he sifted through the papers inside.

"Those papers go in-depth with every questionable business practice, every hate crime against the faunus, and every horrible act you've ever done to your family provided by the courtesy of your daughter, Weiss Schnee," explained Blake, "And if you don't leave her alone, we won't hesitate to tell _everybody._ Your company would _never_ survive."

Jacques studied the envelope, "Are you _threatening_ me, child?"

"I'd say it's more along the lines of _blackmail,"_ smirked Ruby.

Jacques straightened his posture and slipped the envelope into his suit jacket, "Do you know how helpful money can be?" he began, "With the snap of my fingers, I could have anything done, said… Or _examined._ It was _so_ easy learning everything about you, Miss Belladonna."

Blake's face fell as she looked at Ruby for help.

"An ex-terrorist from the White Fang. A runaway daughter to the most powerful people on Menagerie. A _faunus_ in disguise… I did not wish to do this since my daughter holds her team so close, but you have left me no choice," said Jacques as he narrowed his eyes at Blake, "If you tell anyone about anything in this envelope, I will not hesitate to inform the authorities of _your_ crimes. You will live the rest of your life locked away like a filthy animal."

Blake's jaw fell as she took a step back. Within a second, Ruby was at her side and supporting her.

Jacques frowned at the two girls as his scroll began to ring.

"Report," he commanded after answering.

 _"Your daughter is in one of the garages. The students led me right to her,"_ said a gruff voice.

Jacques' smile returned, "Excellent work, Mr. Rainart."

Ruby gasped, "No…"

"You know, Miss Rose, from everything I've read about you in Weiss' letters, I never expected much from you. How appropriately… _Underwhelming,"_ said Jacques as he turned on his heel and walked out the door.

Blake gripped Ruby's arm, "Ruby, we have to tell the world. We can worry about what happens to me later."

Ruby shook her head and pulled out her scroll, "I don't think that will stop him from getting what he wants anymore…" 

* * *

_"Yang… He knows where Weiss is."_

Yang nearly dropped her scroll, "How could things have gone so _wrong!?"_ she whispered, "Get here as fast as you can. Everyone else: we're moving Weiss to the Emerald Forest!"

"Yang, we can't do that," reasoned Pyrrha, "Weiss doesn't have Myrtenaster with her. That would put her life and the rest of our lives in danger."

"Then we'll move her somewhere else! We just need to get her away from here!" cried Yang as she opened the garage door.

Yang grabbed Weiss' hand and dragged her outside only to stop in her tracks as the rest of their group huddled around them.

A few dozen feet in front of them was a tall, muscular man with a dark beard and hazel eyes.

"That's him… _That_ is Rainart," said Pyrrha.

"Weiss Schnee," said Rainart, looking past Yang and straight at Weiss, "Your father would like to speak with you. Let me—"

"I don't know who you are, and I'm not letting you touch her," voiced Yang, "Get out of our way!"

The huge man lowered his stance, "My name is Hazel, and I don't want to hurt anyone. Just hand the girl over and we can all be on our way."

Yang looked behind her at the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching them to find Ruby and Blake sliding to a stop behind their group who were currently taking out their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"It's eight against one. Back off!" shouted Yang.

Hazel grumbled as he slipped a hand into his pocket, "I warned you…"

"Stop!" cried Weiss as she gripped Yang's fist and lightly pushed it down, "I've had enough of this! Everyone stand down!"

One by one, all of Weiss' closest friends lowered their weapons, until, lastly, Hazel removed his hand from his pocket and stood up straight.

Weiss sighed as she watched her father approach from behind Hazel.

Yang instinctively stepped in front of Weiss at the sight of Jacques.

"It's okay," Weiss whispered as she reassuringly squeezed Yang's hand in her own.

Yang stared into Weiss' eyes, her mouth ajar, and stepped aside.

Slowly, Weiss walked up to face her father for the first time after months of running.

Jacques sighed and let his arms fall to his sides, "Hello, Weiss. I see you are no longer hiding your scar."

"One of the better decisions I've made during my time here at Beacon," said Weiss.

Jacques hummed and fell silent.

"What are you doing here, Father?" Weiss asked, softly.

Jacques frowned with a sigh, "I suppose I should begin with saying I'm… Sorry."

Weiss snapped her attention to her father's expression, surprise evident on her face, "You're… Sorry?"

Yang and the rest of her friends shared confused looks.

"I know I was always… _D_ _emanding_ as a parent—"

" _Demanding?"_ Weiss ridiculed, "You call locking me in my room for a month just so no one would know about a stupid injury _demanding?_ You call forcing me to hide my scar _demanding?_ You call separating me from my sister for _years demanding?"_

"I—"

"That wasn't _demanding!_ That was _cruel!"_ Weiss shouted.

Jacques stared at the ground, "I know…"

The anger on Weiss' face instantly changed into shock.

"W-what? What is this? A couple months ago, you would have punished me for saying that to you…"

Jacques was quiet for a moment.

"When your sister was born, I held her in my arms and saw the future. The company was always your grandfather's legacy, and I knew it was my responsibility to raise my children to be ruthless; to always do what's best for the company. I was satisfied with one child, but of course, your mother wanted more, so we had you and your brother, Whitley," Jacques explained, "While your mother raised you and your brother, I worked tirelessly to shape Winter into the strong, ruthless Schnee she needed to be in order to run the family company. As you know, Winter had other ideas and ended up passing her inheritance onto you. When I looked at Winter after that, I only saw my own failure. I looked back on everything I did while raising Winter with an experimental eye. I attempted to refine my methods to make sure the same thing would not happen with my second attempt at a ruthless inheritor… _Y_ _ou."_

Weiss looked at the ground, "I was always just your Plan B?"

"You could put it that way, yes," Jacques frowned, "I became harsher, less forgiving. You could imagine my surprise when you first asked me to go against my wishes by attending Beacon instead of Atlas. And you could imagine my thoughts after you stopped answering my calls. I gave up on you and tried again with Whitley. I was even harsher, even more demanding… I pushed him past his limit…"

Weiss narrowed her eyes as she thought, "Whitley sent me a letter telling me about what you were doing to him… He asked for my help… But I didn't do anything."

"That's because I was careless. One month ago, he tried to take his own life because of me…"

Weiss looked at her father with disgust, "What!? H-how could you!? You're a monster!"

"I know!" Jacques shouted, causing everyone to flinch, "It took the threat of losing a child, my own flesh and blood, to make me understand the importance of family… _That_ is why I'm here, Weiss. I want to bring everyone home to fix the family I broke, and I need your help to do it."

Weiss looked away, trying to comprehend everything her father said. Did she believe him? She did not know. What if this was all a trick to manipulate her? She never knew her father as one to make himself look so weak by apologizing; even as a tactic to manipulate someone. Could it be that Jacques Schnee was truly sorry for what he did to his family? Could it be that he was truly ready to try and fix his wrongdoings?

"Why didn't you tell me about Whitley sooner?"

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't answer your scroll," Jacques sighed, "Although, I suppose it was better I told you in person."

"And what about Winter? Apparently, you've been communing with her for months, yet she had no clue of your change of heart."

Jacques bit his cheek, "It is no secret Winter holds some degree of ire towards me. She would have dismissed my plea as an attempt to manipulate her or you. However, she holds a great deal of tutelage for _you._ I don't expect you to trust my judgment at this time, but if you do this, I believe Winter would soon follow."

Weiss frowned and looked behind herself at all the friends she made. They were all confused, looking and whispering amongst each other.

"Please…" Jacques begged.

Weiss looked at Yang. Yang looked at Weiss.

Weiss clenched her eyes shut, "Could I have a moment with my friends?"

Jacques nodded and turned to speak with Hazel and Klein.

Everyone fell silent as Weiss slowly walked through her friends and stood before Yang. She looked into her eyes: they were wide and filled with hope.

"Yang… I have to go with him."

A pained look washed over Yang's features, "No! You can't!"

"I have to go…" Weiss whispered, "At least for a little while."

"Weiss, please!" Yang begged as tears filled her eyes.

Weiss swallowed painfully.

"All my life, I wanted my father to love me and care about me. To be happy and love my family. This could be my chance to make that happen… I can finally have a _real_ family…"

"But what about us?" cried Yang as she waved her hand at all the friends around them, "What about _me?_ Aren't _we_ your family?"

Weiss looked up into Yang's eyes, "Yes, you are. And I'm not abandoning you. I'll come back when I'm done in Atlas."

"What if this is all a trick? What if he doesn't _let_ you come back?"

"I can't say for sure this _isn't_ a trick… And if it is, you have to trust that I'll find a way back."

Yang let out a pained breath and wiped her eyes.

"Yang, look at me," said Weiss as she cupped her cheek, "I _will_ come back to you. I _promise."_

Yang frowned, "I'll miss you _so_ much…"

Weiss smiled weakly and ran her fingers through Yang's hair, "I'll only be a scroll call away. I'll call you every day."

Yang sniffled and hugged Weiss tightly, "…Goodbye…"

Before Weiss could say anything more, Blake and Ruby wrapped their arms around the two of them followed by everyone from Team JNPR.

"Thank you all so much for everything. Your efforts will not go unnoticed by me. Until next time," Weiss sniffled as everyone let her get through to her father, "Please, don't make me regret my choice, Father."

Jacques smiled and allowed Weiss to walk in front of him, "All I want is for our family to be whole again," he said as he turned to Klein, "Klein, would you go to Weiss' dorm and collect her things?"

Klein frowned and nodded.

Yang watched as Weiss turned one last time to smile at her. Her heart could hardly handle it.

Weiss waved.

Yang waved back.

Weiss turned away, and Yang's heart shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review!


	36. Project Freezerburn

With each step Weiss took, her heart sank further into the empty pit that had formed within her. The choice she made was painful; more painful than anything she had experienced before. Her decision to leave Beacon, to leave _Yang,_ and go with her father was not one she made lightly.

All that time in the garage had given Weiss some much needed time to sit down and think. If her father had come to Beacon himself, she knew running would never work. She thought she would have to finish the conflict then and there or it would never truly end. She was ready to tell him exactly how she felt and exactly what she would do, whether he approved or not.

But she never expected her father to say what he did.

For the first time in her life, Jacques Schnee looked weak. She looked into his eyes and did not see the hard, callous man she had grown to know over the years. Instead, she saw something familiar. She saw a person, broken and cold, just like when she used to look in the mirror. Her instinct was to believe what he said about Whitley and about his change of heart.

Weiss was not stupid. Nothing her father ever did was as black and white as that. She would not let her guard down until she was certain her father's motives were completely benevolent.

Weiss internally sighed at that. It was ridiculous that she could not bring herself to trust her own father, but she knew that was not her fault. She could not help but doubt him. She _wanted_ so _badly_ to trust him, but she just could not. At least not yet.

She had only just left Yang and was already yearning to speak with her. She wanted to dump all her thoughts on her and hear her sweet, jubilant voice tell her it would all be okay.

Perhaps she was a little too hasty: leaving Beacon so suddenly. She could not do anything about that now. She could only remember her promise to Yang. She would come back to her and nothing could stop that.

Weiss turned her head and looked up at her father walking beside her. The grey sky and leafless trees passed by, reminding Weiss of the cold air that promised winter's imminent arrival. It almost looked like Jacques fitted here.

"Father, you're going to let me come back to Beacon after this is all over, right?" Weiss asked.

Jacques turned his head and smiled, "If that's what you want."

Weiss nodded and faced forward. She would hold him to that.

* * *

Yang stood still, her eyes closed as she allowed the chilling breeze to tantalize her face and hair.

Ruby and Blake stood not far behind her with the rest of their friends.

Pyrrha quietly stepped beside Blake, "Is she going to be okay?"

Blake sighed and shook her head, "I… Don't know."

"She hasn't moved for the last ten minutes," Nora whispered from behind them.

Blake bit her cheek and shared a look with Ruby.

Ruby turned and smiled weakly at Jaune, "Why don't you guys head back home. We'll take care of Yang."

Jaune examined Yang's unmoving form and nodded, "I'm… So sorry."

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault," pleaded Ruby.

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Jaune frowned, "Come on, guys. Let's call it a day."

Ruby's head fell as Jaune and his team slowly trudged away.

Blake placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, squeezing it lightly, "You should take your own advice, Ruby," she whispered as she pulled Ruby into a quick one-armed hug and walked up behind Yang.

Yang was like a statue. The only thing that gave her away was the slight swaying of her blonde locks against the grey sky. It all felt wrong.

Blake stepped beside Yang and placed her hand on her arm, "Yang, we should go home now. It's only going to get colder out here."

A few moments passed, and Yang's eyelids slowly raised to reveal emotionless, lilac eyes, "Yeah… Okay."

Yang slowly turned and started for their dorm room.

Ruby glanced at Blake with a frown and fell in behind Yang with her.

Yang did not know what to think. She spent all this time breaking through Weiss' carefully constructed shell, only for her to be taken by the very person who built that shell in the first place. She made it her mission to stop Weiss from being taken, and she failed.

But she never thought the person to make her fail would be Weiss, herself. Yang had anticipated Jacques to be an angry authoritarian who had come for what he believed was rightfully his. Instead, she saw only a man who wanted to fix a family he broke long ago.

Yang wanted to believe he was lying, but she could not tell, same as Weiss. She had no choice but to wait until her girlfriend comes back to her as promised.

As Yang lumbered to the dorm room door, she pictured how life would be without Weiss' sleeping form on her bed every night, or her soft smile whenever Yang touched her hand.

She lazily waved her scroll in front of the door, shoved it open, and shuffled to the window, leaning against it with a shaky sigh.

"Yang," Blake whispered, "She said she'll come back. All you have to do is trust in her."

"I know," said Yang, her voice straining, "I just…"

Yang clenched her eyes shut and instinctively found a seat on Weiss' bed. Her face was buried in her hands as she trembled.

Blake and Ruby instantly sat on either side of Yang.

"Talk to us," said Blake, soothingly, as she and Ruby comforted her.

"I didn't get to tell her how I _feel,_ Blake!" Yang wept, "And now I'm just _sitting_ here with this aching feeling in my chest, not knowing how long I'll have to wait to tell her!"

Ruby's face fell, "Oh…"

Blake frowned and rubbed her hand on Yang's back, "You just have to be patient."

Yang choked out a sob and ignored Blake's advice, "I wanted to tell her so badly. I thought she might have stayed if she felt the same way. But I couldn't put that on her! She's been waiting years for her family to be happy for once, and I would _hate_ myself for being the one who stopped that from happening."

"I'm not sure if there was _anything_ you could have said to change her mind," said Blake, "It's like you said: Weiss has waited a long time for an opportunity like this, and she isn't one to pass up on an opportunity."

Yang looked at Blake, teary confusion in her eyes.

"What I'm trying to say is this whole situation was out of your control from the beginning. It's not _your_ fault."

Yang continued to weep. Frankly, she did not care whether it was her fault or not. She just wanted to know how long she would have to wait until the next time she could hold Weiss close again.

Ruby slowly leaned on her older sister and began to sniffle softly.

Yang could imagine how heartbreaking it must be for Ruby to see her like this, but she could not help herself. She had only experienced this feeling of loss and inconsolable dread once before when her mother died, albeit it was much worse then.

That was years ago. She could not remember what she did to recover if she even _did_ recover. She was hopeless and lost.

Blake let out a deep breath and slowly began to rub circles on Yang's back.

They sat there like that for what felt like hours. Yang felt like she could have cried the whole day away, but it seemed like she had begun to run out of tears.

Gradually, Yang's sobs turned to sniffles and there was a knock on the door.

Blake's ears flicked under her bow at the abrupt, loud noise.

Yang did not move as she already knew the person behind the door was probably Weiss' butler, here to pick up her bags. She briefly wondered why it took him so long to get here, but she did not care enough to ask questions.

Blake flashed a quick, sympathetic look at Yang and opened the door. She smiled weakly at the extraordinarily short man, "Hi. Welcome back."

The short man, Klein, bowed his head and smiled brightly, "Hello, again. May I please come inside?"

"Yeah, of course," nodded Blake as she stepped aside and allowed the man to enter. She shut the door and turned to him, "Sorry we didn't pack up Weiss' things for you. I can help you now if you'd—"

"Forgive me, but I'm afraid I don't have much time," Klein blurted.

Blake raised an eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?"

"You cannot let Mr. Schnee take Weiss back to Atlas," rushed Klein as his eyes blinked red, "The man's going to send'er off to the academy there, and she'll never be allowed to return!"

Yang looked up at Klein, her voice low and dangerous, despite the remnants of tears in her eyes, "What?"

Now both Blake's eyebrows were raised, "What are you talking about? Mr. Schnee said he wanted her back to help fix her family."

Klein's eyes returned to their brown color, "I'm unsure whether he was truthful in saying that or not, but on the airship ride to Beacon, he was speaking with Mr. Rainart. He has no intention of letting her back, and he plans to cut all of you out of her life. My little snowflake will be devastated unless you warn her!"

Blake and Ruby held their breaths and silently watched Yang.

She was seething. Her teeth slowly bared and eyes flashing to a blood-red, "That fucking _liar!_ When I get my hands on him I'll…"

Yang stopped herself and clenched her fist. With a quick deep breath, she blinked, and her eyes returned to their natural lilac, "We need to go and tell Weiss. _Now."_

Yang marched for the door but was stopped by Blake, "Yang, wait a—"

"No, Blake! Can't you see Jacques is manipulating her again? You can't stop me from telling her."

Blake raised her hands, "No, you're right. We _are_ going to tell her."

Yang looked confused, "Then why are you…"

Ruby stepped in beside Blake, "We need another plan. Weiss' dad won't back down easily."

Yang stared at her two teammates. She did not even have to convince them. She briefly pulled them both into a tight hug, "I appreciate you guys wanting to help, but if Jacques retaliates, I don't want you two getting hurt. I've got to do this alone."

"Don't worry about us, we're not the ones that are about to be sent away against our will," Blake pleaded.

"You're right," said Yang, "But my choice hasn't changed. Don't worry: I'll call you first thing if I need you guys."

Ruby, Blake, and Klein watched as Yang threw the door open.

Ruby sighed and shared a quick nod of agreement with Blake, "Good luck, Sis. Now hurry!"

Yang nodded and sprinted out the door.

"I'm coming, Weiss," she whispered to herself.

Yang knew she really did not have to run. They would not leave the airdocks without Weiss' bags, yet she ran anyway. She ran because she was angry, but she was also relieved.

She was angry at Weiss' father for trying to trick them all. The bastard probably made up the sob story about Whitley just to mess with Weiss' head.

She was relieved because the long wait to see Weiss again would not be so long after all. It already felt like an eternity had passed since she last saw her, so she pumped her legs even faster to see her again.

She was outside before she knew it, ignoring the chilling air and breeze. Every step carried her closer to the airdock. Closer to Weiss.

Yang ran, faster and faster, until she saw her.

Weiss Schnee, her pristine, white hair, blowing softly in the wind, and her posture straight and perfect with her hands folded modestly in front of her.

Yang's heart skipped beats and fluttered. An overwhelming feeling of joy filled her very being. But she knew there was still a problem, and he stood not ten feet from Weiss.

"Weiss!" Yang cried as she slid to a stop behind her.

Weiss instantly turned, confusion and exuberance dancing across her features, "Yang? What are you doing here?"

"You can't go with him!" pleaded Yang as she grasped Weiss' shoulders.

Jacques turned to the pair and narrowed his eyes at Yang.

Weiss glanced at him and looked Yang in the eyes, "We already talked about this. I said I would call you, remember?"

Yang's eyes hardened, "You won't be able to, because _he_ won't let you," she said as she pointed at Jacques, "He wants to bring you back to Atlas and force you to attend the academy there, and he's going to cut everyone from Beacon out of your life!"

Weiss furrowed her brows and looked back into her father's eyes, "What is she talking about, Father? Is what she's saying true?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Jacques sighed and frowned, "Trust me, Weiss. When we repair our family together, you won't _want_ to come back."

Weiss' shoulders dropped as she faced Jacques, "You still don't get it, do you?"

"The family will never be whole if _you_ are always here, at Beacon."

Weiss slowly backed away from Jacques, "You asked me to trust you, and I _did_ trust you! And you _lied_ to me!"

Without letting her father get out another word, Weiss hastily grasped Yang's hand and began to run, pulling her girlfriend with her.

Jacques frowned and sighed as he watched his daughter run, "Mr. Rainart, I'd like you to follow them and tell me where they go. Do not interact with them until I get there."

Hazel grunted in understanding and took off to follow them.

* * *

Yang suppressed a grin as she followed Weiss, her hand secured in hers, "Weiss, where are we going?"

"I… I don't know," Weiss admitted as she briefly looked back at Yang, "I just wanted to get away from him for a while."

Yang looked back and saw Hazel some ways behind them, "Weiss, that _guy_ is following us!"

Weiss ignored Yang's warning and thought for a moment. She knew she could not run forever.

"I have an idea," Weiss said as she altered her course.

The paved pathways of the academy shifted to a dirt path as trees with no leaves led them to a lone building that overlooked the city of Vale.

Yang looked up at the building and back at Weiss, "The dance hall? What's your plan?"

Weiss threw the tall doors open, thankful they were unlocked, and rushed inside, slamming the doors closed behind them.

Yang took a moment to walk to the center of the dance floor and look around the hall. Memories of the dance flashed in her mind, and she smiled.

"Gosh, I forgot how empty this place looks without all the—"

Weiss threw herself into Yang's arms and hugged her as tightly as she could, "I missed you _so_ much!"

Yang wrapped her arms around Weiss' smaller frame and rested her head on hers with a small chuckle, "We were only apart for, like, twenty-eight minutes."

"The longest twenty-eight minutes of my life…" Weiss whispered.

"Tell me about it," Yang giggled, remembering the state of mind she was in just minutes ago.

Weiss leaned back and looked up at Yang with soft, sky-blue eyes, "Yang, I am _so_ sorry for—"

"Stop," ordered Yang, "You don't have to apologize for anything. Your dad fooled everyone, including me."

Weiss sighed and looked at the door behind them.

Yang rubbed the back of her head and cleared her throat, "So, are we just going to hide here for a while?"

"No," Weiss frowned and turned back to Yang, "My father will hunt us forever unless we end this properly and face him. He probably already knows where we are anyway thanks to that guy he brought with him."

"This time, we'll do it together," Yang smiled with determination.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Weiss smiled back.

Yang's scroll buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and answered it without hesitation.

 _"Yang, did you find Weiss?"_ asked the unforgettable voice of Ruby Rose.

"Yeah, she's right here."

"Hello, Ruby. It's so good to hear your voice," said Weiss.

 _"What's going on?"_ asked Blake, _"Did Mr. Schnee let Weiss stay?"_

Yang and Weiss grimaced at each other.

"Uh, not exactly," said Yang.

"We're at the dance hall right now," said Weiss, "We're going to confront him here."

 _"What can we do to help?"_ asked Ruby.

"Ruby, I don't want to have you two get involved if I don't have to. My father is ruthless and won't hesitate to ruin you."

_"We don't care. We're your team, Weiss. We're here to defend you."_

Weiss smiled and shared a look with Yang, "Okay, Ruby. Once my father gets here, we need a way to keep him inside the hall until we say everything we need to."

 _"Sounds easy enough,"_ said Blake, _"We can grab Jaune's team and hold the doors closed. Would that work?"_

Weiss smiled, "Wonderfully."

" _Okay! We'll see you soon! Good luck!"_ cheered Ruby.

With that, the scroll went silent, and so did the hall.

Yang bit her lip, "Are you nervous?"

Weiss watched the door, intently, "A little."

"Are you sure there's no other way? Something a little more in our control?"

Weiss shook her head, "This is the only way. He has the time and resources to chase us if we run."

"What if… What if he doesn't listen? What if this doesn't work?"

Weiss turned to Yang and held her hands in her own, "It _will_ work. It _has_ to… But if it doesn't," she said as she looked into Yang's pleading eyes, "Then I want you to know, that—"

The doors swung open, washing the dance hall with blinding natural light and the crisp outdoor air.

Weiss frowned at Yang and let go of her hands as they both faced the men that entered the hall.

Jacques strode into the room, a dark expression on his face, with Hazel just behind him. As soon as the doors were slammed shut, the tension in the room spiked, and no one said a word.

"I've had enough of this game of cat and mouse we play," said Jacques, at last, "It is time you come home."

Weiss felt Yang's presence beside her and found her confidence rising, "Why? Is it so you can lock me up again like some criminal?"

"I already told you why I need you at home. I did not lie about wanting to fix the family," Jacques growled.

"I want that too, Father, but that will never happen if you keep acting like this."

"Acting like what? A father?" Jacques ridiculed.

Weiss wanted to laugh, but her ire did not let her.

"You really think _this_ is what fathers do? Force his children to do whatever he wants regardless of their hopes and aspirations!?"

"You are _my_ daughter, and I am _your_ father!" Jacques shouted, "You are _my_ responsibility and _my_ liability!"

"Maybe so, but I am _no one's_ puppet!" Weiss screeched, "You can't control what I do with my life! Fathers are supposed to be guides, support! You only mold and force your will!"

Jacques let out an irritated groan, "Can't you see I'm only trying to do what's best for our family?"

"That will never happen if you force me to go with you!"

"Arrogant child! I said it's time we leave!"

"I won't go with you!" Weiss cried and took a deep breath, "Not like this."

Rage flashed in Jacques' eyes and he growled, "Mr. Rainart, I've wasted enough effort trying to convince my daughter to come home. Secure her and bring her back to the airship."

Hazel stepped around Jacques and cracked his knuckles, "As you wish."

Weiss gasped as her eyes shot open. There was no way her father could do something like this. She stepped backward.

Hazel slowly approached, his towering height, sending shivers down her spine.

She reached for her hip, feeling the soft, warm fabric of her combat skirt instead of the cold, hard steel of Myrtenaster.

Her blood went cold, but she was quickly filled with a pleasant warmth as a large mane of blonde hair stepped in front of her.

Yang extended Ember Celica, her eyes flashing a deadly red, "Don't you _dare_ touch her."

Hazel halted and looked back at Jacques.

"Deal with her," said Jacques.

Hazel resumed his lumbering with a new goal in mind.

Yang raised her arm and gently pushed Weiss' away, "Get back, Weiss."

"Yang, you're going to get _hurt,"_ Weiss pleaded, refusing to leave her side.

Yang glanced at Hazel and smirked at Weiss, "He doesn't look so tough."

Yang winked as she shoved Weiss out of harm's reach and squared up with Hazel.

Hazel stood a few feet in front of Yang, "Back down, and I won't have to do anything you'll regret."

"I don't think so," Yang spat.

Hazel shook his head, "Then you leave me no choice."

With surprising speed, Hazel raised his large fist and swung at Yang's head.

Yang yelped and narrowly ducked under it, landing a few quick jabs on the man's ribs. Without any sign of pain, Hazel turned and swung at Yang with the back of his hand, colliding with Yang's shoulder and sending her a few feet towards the door.

"Yang!" Weiss cried as she rushed toward her girlfriend.

"It's time to leave, Weiss," Jacques growled as he gripped Weiss' arm and began to pull her towards the door.

"Let go of me!" Weiss shouted, not taking her eyes off Yang as she quickly got back to her feet and lunged at Hazel.

Jacques continued to drag Weiss to the door and tried to push it open.

The door did not move.

He tried again, to no avail, "What is wrong with this damn door!"

Weiss internally thanked Ruby and Blake as she watched Yang fight.

Yang sprinted at Hazel, winding her gauntleted fist back to slam it into Hazel's chest, only to fake it. Instead, she slid between his legs, firing her gauntlets to propel her, and threw a right hook directly into his lower back.

Hazel swung his massive arm around behind him at Yang's head.

Yang saw it coming and braced herself, stopping the strike with a block, that sent a wave of pain through her forearm. She grunted as Hazel grabbed her arm and threw her across the dance hall.

"Mr. Rainart!" shouted Jacques, "Break these doors down! I'm sick of this place!"

Hazel turned and slowly walked towards the doors.

Yang growled as her eyes flashed red, "No!" she shouted as she climbed to her feet and rushed toward the giant man. She fired at the ground, shooting herself into the air, and let out a battle cry as her first dropped down and collided with the back of Hazel's skull.

Hazel grunted and fell to one knee, shaking his head and rubbing his face.

Yang ran in between Hazel and the doors, firing an explosive shell at the downed man.

"Stay down!" she cried as Hazel's aura absorbed the damage.

Hazel quickly recovered and sprinted at Yang, throwing several punches.

Yang brought up her guard, dodging and weaving through Hazel's onslaught. She sidestepped a devastating straight punch and threw a strong uppercut into his chin.

Hazel countered by bringing his arms above his head and bringing them down together on top of Yang.

Yang barely stepped back in time and began shooting a volley of shotgun blasts at Hazel.

The giant held up his arms, blocking the rounds from hitting his face and charged at Yang, slamming into her with his shoulder.

Yang slid across the dancefloor, managing to stay on her feet.

Hazel bared his teeth and threw his dark green cloak off his shoulders, "I warned you…"

He reached into two pouches on both of his legs and revealed four lightning dust crystals. He slowly raised them into the air and plunged them deep into his biceps. Within seconds, his muscles grew and made him appear even larger than before as electricity coursed through his veins and around his body.

With a loud howl, Hazel slammed his fists against the floor, cracking the wood underneath and sending shockwaves at Yang.

Yang gasped and hastily jumped to avoid the wave, launching two explosive shells at Hazel while in the air.

Hazel shielded his face from the explosion with his arms and jumped into the air, grabbing Yang and dragging her back to the ground. He raised a charged first and brought it down, aiming for Yang's stomach.

On instinct, Yang rolled backward and onto her feet as Hazel's first crushed the floor where she had just been laying, sending another shockwave around him.

Yang quickly found herself on the defensive as Hazel swiped at her relentlessly. She could feel her steps getting sloppier as Hazel continued to overwhelm her defenses.

She misstepped, and Hazel's hand smashed into her left rib.

She let out a cry of pain that echoed throughout the hall.

"Yang!" Weiss cried.

Hazel gripped Yang's arm, hoisting her over his head and throwing her into the ground. He raised his arm, letting lightning charge in his fist.

"Yang! Get up! Please!"

Hazel's fist flew at Yang, only to meet the dance hall floor.

Yang rolled out of the way and stood up. Her hair burning with an angry heat that matched the color of her eyes.

Hazel winded his fist back and threw it as Yang did the same. A wave of heat and lightning pulsed through the room as their fists collided.

Hazel was sent stumbling back as Yang screamed and pelted him with dozens of jabs and hooks. With one last punch, Yang reeled back and threw a powerful straight punch into Hazel's chest, sending him into the wall at the back of the dance hall.

The giant huffed and stood up as if he did not feel an ounce of pain from her powerful attack, causing Yang's face to fall.

"You are strong," Hazel said as he reached into his pouches again, "But not strong enough."

He brought out a pair of fire dust crystals and howled as he impaled them into his biceps.

Yang quickly checked her scroll. Her aura was already low, but she could only assume Hazel's was too. She had to keep going. If she failed, Weiss would be taken away. She would _not_ let that happen.

Yang steeled herself and raised her gauntleted arms. She studied Hazel's arms and the crystals that stuck out of them. All she needed to do was get those crystals.

Hazel raised his arms and let the fire and lightning charge up. He shouted as she extended his arms at Yang, sending an explosive firebolt at her.

Yang propelled herself out of the way with her gauntlets and sprinted at Hazel. She launched herself directly at him, only to fire a round at the floor, sending her in an arc over Hazel. As the left cross that was aimed at her missed completely, she reached out and tore two lightning dust crystals out of his arm.

Hazel growled angrily as Yang landed out of his reach, dropping the two bloody crystals at her feet.

"You may be stronger," Yang snarled, "But I'm smarter."

Hazel bared his teeth and swung his arm in front of him, sending a wave of flames at Yang.

Yang slid under the heat and launched an explosive round at Hazel, who shot a beam of fire at it, detonating it in midair. Before the dust could clear up, Yang jumped through it, aiming a kick at Hazel's chest, but going for the remaining fire dust crystal in his arm, instead. She pulled it out of his flesh but did not make it far enough.

Hazel gripped her arm and grasped the crystal in his hand, surging with electricity.

Yang pulled as hard as she could, and she could feel the crystal slipping from her grasp.

Hazel roared and squeezed the crystal.

"Yang! Let go!" shouted Weiss.

Before Yang could think about why Weiss would say that, everything became clear. The fire dust crystal spontaneously combusted, causing Yang to stumble back as she coughed in the smoke.

"Look out!"

Yang opened her eyes as a fist slammed into her face, sending her rolling on the floor. She groaned as her aura crackled and broke, leaving her defenseless on the ground as her head spun.

Hazel quickly closed the distance and winded up his fist, ready to send it into Yang.

Yang sighed. She failed again.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss," she whispered as she watched Hazel's fist approach her.

"Yang!" Weiss cried.

Yang's closed her eyes, accepting the pain that would soon take over her mind. But the pain never came. Everything felt… Cool. Like there was a giant block of ice inches away from her face.

Yang slowly opened her eyes and her jaw dropped.

Just before her was a massive, glowing fist that had stopped Hazel's punch in its tracks. The fist was white and looked like it belonged on a suit of armor. It was sticking out of the ground through a glyph.

Hazel struggled to tear his fist out of the gauntlet's grip.

Slowly, the gauntlet began to rise as the rest of what seemed to be an arm slowly raised out of the glyph. Eventually, a helmet then full suit of armor ascended from the glyph.

Yang watched in awe as a massive, white knight stood its full height and lifted Hazel by the fist as if he was a doll.

Hazel screamed as the armor hurled him into the doors, causing the wood to snap off its hinges and fall flat on the ground outside.

Jacques stared, horrified at his unconscious bodyguard that now laid on the ground with Ruby, Blake, and Team JNPR surrounding him, equally shocked. He slowly turned to the towering knight, the Arma Gigas.

The Arma Gigas stood, frozen for a moment. Its head snapped to Jacques, staring at him with its empty, black eyes, and broke into a sprint, drawing its gauntleted fist back to obliterate him.

Jacques let out a terrified shout and brought his arms up in an attempt to shield himself, but he only felt a cool gust of wind. He slowly lowered his arms to find the glowing fist mere inches away from his face.

Weiss sighed as she walked over to Yang, helping her back to her feet. She turned to her father and slowly shook her head, "You still don't understand."

Like a dream, the knight faded away, floating through the air as a cloud of dust that resembled snow.

Weiss chuckled dryly, "It's ironic. You say you want to fix the family. That you want us all to be happy for once, but to you, it only matters if _you_ are happy, and everyone else has to be complaisant."

For once, Jacques had nothing to add to his daughter's comment.

Weiss took her father's silence as a sign he was listening and continued, "You know, it was hard for me to find happiness when I first came here. Everything you put me through was debilitating, to say the least. Crushing anxiety, sleepless nights, incontinent temper… I was exactly what you wanted me to be." Weiss sighed and looked into her father's eyes, "I _hated_ that person. That _person_ didn't know happiness. But here, with all these new people and experiences, that changed. Thanks to my friends, my team, Yang… _I_ know happiness. Where _you_ showed me scorn, _she_ showed me kindness. Where _you_ showed me negligence, _she_ showed me care. Where _you_ made me fear…" she briefly glanced at Yang, _"She_ made me love. Which is why I will never leave _her_ or any of the friends I've made here."

Jacques studied Weiss, his anger spiking, "You want to stay here and leave our family broken?" he spat as looked at Yang, "How could you choose this _girl_ over your own family?"

"Because I _love_ Yang!" Weiss cried and turned to Yang, smiling at her softly, "I _love_ her…"

Yang smiled and felt her heart flutter as she felt tears of joy forming in her eyes.

Weiss turned back to her father and stepped forward, "And Yang has been more of a family to me than you have _ever_ been."

Jacques stood, dumbfounded, with his mouth ajar. Slowly, he blinked and looked away, "You… _Love_ her," he whispered, "Love…"

Weiss watched intently, as Jacques stood there, contemplating his next move. She only hoped there was any semblance of humanity left in her father.

Jacques sighed and met his daughter's eyes, "There's nothing I can say to convince you to come home, is there?"

Weiss shook her head.

Jacques bit his lip and slowly nodded his head, "Very well. I suppose I have no choice than to leave you all be," he turned to the entrance and stopped, looking back at Weiss, "Perhaps you could visit sometime whenever you are ready."

"When I know you understand what our family really needs," said Weiss.

With a nod, Jacques Schnee stepped outside.

The hall was quiet. Weiss had to wait for a moment, not believing this whole situation was over. Soon, a feeling of pure joy filled her, and she spun around to face the person that made all this possible.

"Yang, I—"

"I love you, too!" Yang laughed as she hugged Weiss, lifting her into the air and spinning her in a circle. She planted a loving kiss on her lips, "Gods, I love you…"

The two stood, laughing and loving, as Ruby, Blake, and Team JNPR rushed into the dance hall, cheering and laughing with them.

"Yay! We did it!" cheered Ruby as everyone giggled.

"I… Can't believe it's over," Weiss sighed, "It's almost like I don't know what to do now," Weiss suddenly gasped and smiled, "Wait! Yang!"

Yang chuckled and grinned at her girlfriend, "What is it?"

"Project Freezerburn!"

Yang gasped, and her jaw dropped, "I completely forgot!"

Ruby and Blake shared confused looks with Team JNPR.

"Uh… What are you guys talking about?" asked Jaune.

Weiss stayed attached to Yang by the hip and grinned, "There's something in the garden that we want you all to see!"

"Well, what are we waiting for!?" cheered Nora, "I love surprises!"

Everyone laughed as they all funneled out of the dance hall. Jacques and Hazel were gone.

They talked and laughed as they followed the path back to the garden. Weiss found it hard to believe this whole day began in the garden. She looked up at the sky, the light grey clouds finally allowing the sun to peek through.

When they reached the garden, Yang and Weiss, together, stepped into the stone structure.

"Feast your eyes!" grinned Yang as she presented the collage.

"Holy crap! There are so many drawings!" gasped Ruby as she stepped closer to the board.

Weiss took a deep breath, "Everyone, could I have your attention, please?"

All heads in the garden turned and regarded Weiss.

She smiled and took a moment to look at each of her friends in their eyes.

"I want you all to know just how thankful I am for your help," Weiss began, "I didn't lie when I said you've been like a family to me. Through the rough parts and the wonderful parts, you never gave up on me…" Weiss wiped her eyes and smiled, "There is nothing I can do that would truly repay you all for your kindness and compassion, but this board, a collage of our greatest moments together, is as close as I can get. Thank you."

"Aw! Come here, you!" laughed Nora as she hugged her far too tightly.

One by one, all Weiss' friends hugged her and marveled at the project. Some sketches made them laugh, others made them tear up. There was a surprising number that embarrassed Jaune and Ruby.

There was one sketch that stood out to Weiss, however. At the very center of the board was a sketch that had taken her all year to figure out and complete. The sketch of the lone, faceless dancer.

Only now, she had a face, and she was no longer alone. Weiss had always thought the beautiful dancer should be someone she loved, so she drew herself. She could finally love herself as Yang loved her. It was for that reason, she also added a second dancer: Yang.

"Yang?" asked Weiss.

"Yes?"

"I'm exhausted."

Yang chuckled and wrapped her arm around Weiss' torso, "Me too."

"Let's leave."

"Already?"

Weiss looked at her friends, all preoccupied with the board, "I don't think we'll be missed."

Yang shrugged, "Okay. Back to the dorm?"

Weiss smiled and looked into Yang's eyes, "I had somewhere else in mind."

Yang raised an eyebrow, "Alright… Lead the way."

Weiss began to giggle as she gripped Yang's hand and dragged her back to the dorm building.

Yang shot a confused look at Weiss as they walked passed their floor, but immediately knew where they were going once they climbed higher up the stairs.

Weiss threw open the door to the roof of the dorm building and led Yang to sit beside her on the ledge that overlooked the campus. They sat together, quietly enjoying each other's company.

"I'm sorry I left," Weiss said suddenly.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Yang smiled.

Weiss chuckled and looked down at the campus below, "I thought my father could give me something that I had been waiting for my whole life."

"So, it's understandable that you wanted to go with him, and you were justified in doing that."

Weiss shook her head, "No… I wasn't. I was so busy thinking about the happy family my father was offering that I failed to realize that I already had that all along... With _you."_

Weiss' heart swelled as those wonderful lilac irises gazed lovingly into her own blue ones. She scooted closer to Yang and rested her head in the crook of her neck. They sat together, at the very location where Weiss revealed her scar and began her healing, and they never wanted to let go.

And as the first snow of winter began to fall from the grey clouds, neither of them felt cold. To be honest with herself, Weiss was done being cold and broken. She was finally whole.

When she first came to Beacon, she did not know who she was. As far as she was concerned, she was a different person entirely.

Then she met Yang, a beautiful, blonde, brute who always seemed to find herself on Weiss' bad side. In time, she would find Yang to be so much more.

Yang was the person to bring a light to her dark, depressing life. She helped Weiss realize she had a choice. Weiss became the person she was always destined to be.

And now, as snowflakes fell on her body and melted away, Weiss was warm. She had Yang to keep her that way, now and forever.

Because Weiss was finally free to be what _she_ wanted to be.

Because Weiss was no longer afraid.

Because Weiss loved Yang, and Yang loved Weiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading my first fanfiction! The themes for this story are friendship and forgiveness. The world can be a very lonely place without friends who can support you. It is also important to forgive people who do wrong by you, even when they don't deserve it. You'll feel much better when you let your grudges go, and I know that from experience. Stay tuned for the sequel to this story where Weiss and Yang face a new challenge as parents! See you then!


	37. Epilogue

_Five years later…_

* * *

Just off the west coast of Vale, on the large island of Patch, Weiss clung tightly to Yang's arm as they walked. Short piles of snow lined the sides of the sidewalk they were on. It was dark and chilly outside, but the two women had bundled up for their planned evening out.

As Weiss walked with Yang down the lamp-lit sidewalk, she clutched at the small, felted box in her coat pocket. Her stomach churned with nervous energy.

Weiss let out a drawn-out sigh and looked up at the star-filled sky.

Yang looked down at Weiss and smiled, "Is the moon shining a little too brightly tonight?"

Weiss smiled and rolled her eyes, "No, I just forgot how nice the winters are on Patch. They're just so much more pleasant than in Atlas. I honestly don't even need these earmuffs right now."

Yang reached over and poked the soft material of Weiss' earmuffs, "So, take them off."

"No."

"Why not?" Yang giggled, "Is it because I bought them for you when we visited your parents?"

Weiss smirked and pulled Yang's beanie over her eyes, "And I suppose you've decided to wear the beanie _I_ bought _you_ for a similar reason? We both know you don't need it."

"Honestly, I just think I look great in a beanie," said Yang as she lifted her beanie off her eyes.

"You didn't think so in Atlas."

Yang laughed, "That's because I didn't want to ruin my hair that day, and you know it! I was trying to make a good first impression on your mom and dad!"

"Oh, so _that's_ why you decided to pull that insane stunt with the giant suit of armor at dinner?"

"I swear that was an accident! And it was _so_ embarrassing," whined Yang as she looked at the street.

"Don't worry about it. It only took three hours to repair the damage after we left," said Weiss with a wave of her hand.

Yang looked at Weiss incredulously, "All that damage took _only three hours?"_

Weiss shrugged, "You'd be surprised how quickly you can get things done when you have the lien."

"That explains why your dad was so chill about it."

"That _and_ because he actually likes you, you know."

Yang chuckled at that, "That's so crazy… Can you believe when we met, he was so _evil_ , but now he's so…"

"Loving," Weiss smiled, "I never told you this, but my father told me he viewed you as a sort of guide of how to treat the family."

Yang furrowed her brows, "Me?"

"I told you, you _really_ made an impression on him that day of our first year at Beacon," Weiss nodded, "He told me the way you fought for me was unlike anything he had seen before. He must've known the way I feel about you is real."

"Wow," Yang chuckled, "Maybe we should visit your parents again soon."

"We could, but Whitley and Winter won't be there."

"What, did Ironwood station Winter somewhere again?"

"Yeah, Winter's not set for another leave for a while, and Whitley is studying abroad in Vacuo."

"Wait," said Yang, concern evident in her voice, "Isn't it kind of dangerous for him to be studying abroad _there_ with the Grimm situation?"

"We hired Coco and Velvet to keep an eye on him while he's there. I'm honestly not worried at all."

Yang immediately relaxed, "Oh, yeah. Those guys can take anything."

As the two women walked up to the restaurant they were about to dine in, Weiss gripped the box in her pocket again. This time, the swirling in her stomach was much milder thanks to the light banter she shared with Yang. It seemed Yang had that effect on her.

"Good evening Yang and Miss Schnee," the hostess greeted.

"Oh, you can call me Weiss," Weiss chimed in.

"Yeah, she's practically part of the family here on Patch now," chuckled Yang as she wrapped her arm around Weiss' waist.

The hostess laughed and lead them to their reserved seats on the balcony. Weiss looked over the railing and marveled at all the bright lights and families walking and laughing below.

"Gosh, it's so good to be back at home," Yang sighed as she followed Weiss' gaze, "I could never stay in Vacuo for any longer than I had to."

Weiss looked up from the view and watched Yang. The way the moonlight fell upon her golden hair reminded her of the dance they designed all those years ago at Beacon.

Weiss was nervous then, and she was nervous now. She had been planning this evening with Yang for a month.

During the two whole years of persistent hunting following their graduation from Beacon, nights like this one were a rarity. She convinced Yang they needed a well-deserved break to spend some quality time together.

Early on, Weiss brought up the idea of a date like what they used to do at Beacon for old times' sake. She could hardly control her glee when Yang wholeheartedly agreed.

Before they could have this dinner, however, Yang had to complete one last hunt in Vacuo.

Weiss used the whole week Yang was away to find the small felted box in her pocket that contained the most important question in her life so far.

Weiss blinked, shaking herself free of her nervous thoughts, "I never asked: how was your hunt?"

"Oh, you know… It was hot and sweaty," Yang chuckled, "This hunt was _way_ less fun than the last one in Vacuo we did together."

Weiss smirked and leaned on the table, "Undoubtedly. Hunts are always more enjoyable when we're together."

"Yeah, especially when they're internal defense missions. They go by _so_ fast and then it's like we get a free vacation wherever it is, like that one time in Argus!"

Weiss giggled at the memory, "Yes, we definitely had an… Interesting stay together in Argus."

"I'll say. I could hardly walk after everything we did there," Yang chuckled.

Weiss tried to suppress a grin and slapped Yang's arm, _"Yang,_ there are children here!"

Yang laughed, "Sorry. Anyway, there were more Grimm than expected over there. I had almost no time to myself. It took a little longer than I wanted it to, but I got the job done."

"As you always do," smiled Weiss.

Yang smiled and grasped Weiss' hand on the table, "I might have to go back, though. Local huntsmen are expecting a spike in Grimm activity because of an incoming sandstorm. They've already started posting hunts."

"Well, this time we'll go together."

Yang thanked the waitress as two glasses of champagne were placed on their table, "I am so glad you said that," she said as she raised her glass, "To us and all the sorry Grimm who think they can take us down!"

Weiss rolled her eyes with a smile as she clinked Yang's glass with her own, "To us."

They drank and Weiss wrapped her fingers around the felted box in her pocket. She could feel the air thicken as they both fell silent.

"Yang—"

"Hey, Weiss—"

They spoke at the same time.

Weiss nervously glanced at the table, "Y-you go first."

"N-no, you should go first. I insist," stuttered Yang.

Weiss felt like a child again. She has not been this nervous around her girlfriend since their first kiss. Regardless, she found her resolve.

"Okay…" Weiss began as she took a deep breath and squeezed Yang's hand, "Yang, I just want you to know how wonderful the last five years of my life have been. As each day with you comes and goes, my heart overflows with love. I love you _so_ much, and I want to spend every day of the rest of my life by your side, sharing the best and worst parts of life with you. You are my best friend, my soul mate, and the love of my life."

As Weiss pulled her hand out of Yang's and found the felted box in her pocket, all the noise and distractions of the restaurant faded away. She moved out of her seat and knelt on one knee before Yang. At last, the felted box was removed from Weiss' pocket and opened to reveal a bright gold ring with a magnificent, lilac diamond gleaming against the moonlight.

"Yang Xiao Long, will you complete me… Be the woman of my dearest dreams… Will you marry me?"

Weiss watched Yang's frozen face for what felt like an eternity.

Yang stared, her mouth ajar, at the engagement ring inside the red, felted box in Weiss' hands. Slowly, she slid her hand in her own pocket and pulled out a small, black box. She opened it, revealing a small, silver ring with a large, sky blue gem.

Weiss gasped and flung herself into Yang's arms, "Of _course_ I'll marry you!"

"I didn't even ask yet," Yang giggled as tears of joy began to blur her vision.

Weiss cupped Yang's face in her hands and pressed her lips onto hers. She could not help the formation of her own tears that dripped down her cheeks.

"I love you," breathed Yang after they parted.

Weiss felt her heart leap. She had heard Yang say those word to her so many times before, but now she felt like they meant something else entirely. Those words meant that Yang saw her as her whole life; the one to cherish for better or worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health until death do them part.

It was for this reason Weiss could only tell Yang a truth she would forever know.

"I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Stick around for more freezerburn stories and more!


End file.
